Radioactive Love
by ChaosreigN
Summary: A series of atomic bombs were set off due to a war between North Korea and the United States causing the world to fall into chaos. 150 years in the future Kagome Higarashi wakes up from a cryogenic sleep o find herself in a world familiar, and yet so very different from what she remebers. As she struggles to get her footing in this new world she runs into danger and romance.
1. Chapter 1

**Kagome**

* * *

I awoke that day like it was any other. I showered, brushed my teeth, threw on my wrinkled school uniform and ran to school. I barely said a word to my family as I left the family shrine, but I did take a second to pray to the ancestors for strength. Hojo was waiting for me, and today way the day I was finally going to confess my feelings for him. The walk to school seemed to stretch on further than before. My Stomach was in knots as I approached the school yard. There he was, smiling and talking to his friends like he did every day. He paused for a moment and smiled in my direction. Unfortunately I never got the chance to tell him how I felt.

As I was in the process of crossing the street the early warning system's sirens began blaring throughout the entire city. I was pushed by the panicking people around me as they scrambled to find shelter underground. I found myself in a clinic of sorts surrounded by worried people and doctors in white lab coats. As the sirens continued to blare no one knew what to do. When the sirens began picking up in intensity the doctors took charge and began shifting us around and ushering us towards the basement where giant hunks of machinery were lined up against one wall.

One of the doctors explained that they were Cryogenic tanks in the middle of testing. In an effort to keep calm we kept asking questions to keep ourselves from thinking about the sirens, or about what they meant. The tanks were going to be used to flash freeze people and keep them in a kind of unchanging sleep as the world around them keeps going. We would be able to use this technology to send sick people into the future where a cure for their ailment would be readily available. Celebrities and wealthy entrepreneurs had already invested enough money in this idea to get it into a testing stage. So far they had successfully brought three dogs and a monkey months into the future. Each Tank had a built in power generator to keep constant power until the subject was supposed to be revived. It was really interesting, and the plan of keeping myself distracted was almost working until the earth around us began to shake violently.

Everyone was screaming.

The overhead lights began flickering on and off.

Someone pushed me and I fell into one of the open tanks that the scientists/doctors had been showing to us as a type of demonstartion.

It was comfortable until it was cold.

The door slammed shut as the machine began cooling everything around me. What had the scientists said? The rapid cooling took less than ten minutes? I watched as people around me fell into other tanks or simply huddled on the ground screaming. It was chaos.

I could feel the blood in my veins slow and freeze. Thinking became harder and my breathing was labored.

The last thing I remember before the darkness took me was a single, freezing tear running down my cheek.

* * *

Everything felt stiff. My eyes didn't want to open, much less focus. It was dark when I woke up. I was still in the Cryogenic tank. For a second It was peaceful until I heard noises coming from outside. The sounds were murmurs and whispers that I couldn't really understand. I froze, trying to strain myself to hear what the sounds were. Every second that passed my ability to hear was returning to me. And what I heard terrified me.

"I can't believe no one's found this place yet," A disemboweled voice said as I heard something crash to my left.

"I wonder how long these stiffs have been frozen." Another said.

"From the looks of these corpses I'd say from the beginning of the end." A female voice said. At least, I thought it was female. "Some of the ones in these machines look like they've been preserved though. Maybe the material is resistant to radiation?" I did my best not to move as I watched a shadow pass over the glass of my tank. It was still mostly covered in ice so I couldn't get a good look at the peeper.

"Hey, check it! This one's a girl. Think her bodies still fresh? They'll pay a pretty penny for something like this."

"One way to find out," A voice said as the sound of scraping began. It only lasted a couple of seconds, and then the sound of metal being bent of out shape began. I pushed myself as far back as I could into the cushioning of the tank. After the lights began flickering the door made a hissing noise as it began to lift. It hurt to breathe in the air around me. It didn't feel quite as fresh as it should have. The shadows around me began taking shape in front of me.

"Fresh isn't exactly the word I would use," The girl said. She was tall and pale with black hair down her back and a hungry look on her face.

"You're right Yura, as always. This one will fetch a pretty penny indeed.

A loud piercing, rough sound made its way to my ears and as one of the blobs raised a weapon and brought it down on my head. It wasn't until later that I realized that the sound had been me screaming.


	2. Chapter 2

**Kagome**

* * *

I awoke groggy and confused for the second time in a dimly lit, smelly, damp room. Whispers echoed through from the next room as I did my best to sit up. My hands were tied behind my back and a gag was stuffed in my mouth. How did I even end up in this situation? I leaned back against the wall trying my best to listen to what my captors were saying.

"So the auction is set up for tomorrow," A new female voice hissed.

"I don't like this idea boss. Too many of our people in one place is bound to cause suspicion from the normies."

"Then we'll just kill them. What's the point of having these powers if we don't use them?"

Powers? Auction? I vaguely remembered them saying something about selling me. Would a 15 year old high school girl really sell for anything? I stopped that train of thought before it lead me somewhere I didn't want to go. No, instead I should be focusing on a way to get out this predicament. My eyes scanned the room as I did my best to tune my captor's voices out. I found nothing useful by the time the door was shoved open and a woman walked into my room. Even in this dim light I could tell something was off about this woman. As she walked towards me I thought for a few seconds her shadow had six arms!

"Well how is our little time traveler this morning?" She asked with a sneer in her voice. I tried focusing on her but my vision was still a little bit blurry. "Oh I'm sorry, I must have forgotten," She leaned down and my eyes grew wide as her six arms became much clearer. One set of them untied the gag as the others began pouring a glass of water and adjusting some papers on a table too high for me to see. "You must be very scared after waking from such a long nap," her tone was condescending, but I did my best to ignore it. My mother once told me it wasn't polite to stare at people who were different, but my eyes wouldn't leave her arms.

"What happened to you?" I blurted out before I had any control over my voice. The words were as rough as they felt cascading from my mouth.

One of her hands struck light lightning, leaving my cheek feeling like it was on fire.

"I'm sure at some point in history girls were taught not to be so rude with their words." The woman crossed her arms, or at least two sets of them as the lowest pair was resting on her hips.

"I'm sorry I just…"

"Enough," she said, sitting on a chair in front of me, looking very menacing. "Now you're only safe because I've got a lot of stones riding on you being bought at the auction tomorrow. A girl like you with no deformities or ailments will sell for quite a lot as a bride or slave. I don't care which, so long as I get paid." Her words were so cold and callous that I couldn't help but be scared. I didn't even know what happened to my family…

Tears began blurring my vision as they spilled from my eyes. I couldn't have stopped them if I wanted to.

"Oh hells now you're crying. Listen I will do you one favor and answer any questions you have until I get bored with you." She leaned back in her chair and rested a pair of her arms in her lap as the rest remained crossed. "I'll even start you off with a free answer, my name is Centipede and for the moment you belong to me." There was no real emotion in her statement, but I committed her name to memory.

"Do you know how long I've been in that Cryogenic tank?" I asked weakly as the tears kept spilling.

"I don't know exactly, but I know 'The End' began over 150 years again with a nuclear war between countries called United States and Korea. I never cared much for the details, but I know that their war ruined the world." She blew a stray hair out of her face.

I sat in silence for a moment letting that sink in. 150 years ago I was running to school to tell Hojo that I thought I was in love with him while completely ignoring my family. My mother and Brother Sota could have died, or worse spent their last remaining days looking for me, never to find me at all. "A lot of people didn't make it. But some people did, braving the radioactive fallout to scavenge for food to survive. They suffered from radiation poisoning in different ways, some became mutated monsters that still held shreds of human DNA, and others passed the radiation onto their children. You're lucky nowadays if you're born looking like you. Normies we call you. They usually have weird gifts though like making fireballs or reading minds. You can never really tell with them. Then there are others that they call 'demons'." Centipede smiled for a moment. "Demons are people like me and my gang who wear our mutations like skin. In some cases it's very literal. There are people like us all over the islands, doing our best to keep to the shadows so normies don't have to look at us so closely. But I sure do hope that changes soon." Centipede wasn't so much talking to me as to herself.

"That sounds terrible. You shouldn't have to feel like less than them just because you look different. You didn't ask for this." I don't know what kind of reaction I was expecting but getting slapped wasn't it.

"Idiot girl. We will never be less than them!" She yelled, but there was something soft in her eyes. I stayed quiet after that. Simply biding my time until she left. Centipede stared at me for a long time. She was beautiful, even with six arms. Her eyes were like black holes, sucking all of the light in around them, and her skin was the color of cream. I wasn't sure how things were going to work in this new world, but it looks like skin care is still really important. Her clothes had be modified to fit her body well. It was a red material that clung to her skin, but it couldn't have been too tight since she seemed to move easily in it.

"I wonder what kind of mutation you'll gain once you make real contact with the outside world. Most of the radiation has dissipated, but some still clings to lowlands and large bodies of water. Maybe you'll end up a demon like us." Centipede spat the last part as she stood up and strode out of the room. I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to shut out the world around me. I was surely dead, none of this could be real. There were mutants and people that could throw fire. These were the kinds of things you read in comic books or watched on T.V.

Sometime into my contemplating a knock came to the door and a large man covered in black feathers walked into the room.

"Centipede says that outfit is no good for the auction." He squawked at me. I did my best not to scream as he approached me and placed a pile of clothes on the bed. I stared at him for what felt like an eternity before he spoke again. "I'll untie you, but any funny business and I'll have you right back down on that floor, you understand?" His voice was high pitched and grated at my nerves, but I did my best to stay calm. I wasn't really enjoying my spot here on the floor, so any chance I had at being able to stretch my legs was a good one. My body was still sore from all of those years in hibernation and I needed to get what little strength I had in my muscles back. I might not be able to fight these guys but maybe I would be able to run.

His feathered hand grabbed my arm as he pulled me up. I whimpered as he spun me around to undo the knot holding my hands together.

"If you behave we won't have to tie you back up, so just do as Mistress Centipede says and your stay here won't be too terrible." The Giant mass of feathers walked out of the room. After the door clicked shut I heard a deadbolt slide into place. I sat on the bed and resisted the urge to cry. Tears wouldn't do much good here. I sifted through the stack of clothes finding a light blue dress made out of silk. The fabric was old and worn, but still in good shape. Slowly I forced my body to stand as I took inventory of my stiff limbs. Nothing was injured, but nothing really wanted to move like I needed it to. Pulling off my sweater was a workout all its own. Slowly I shed my clothing and did my best to pull on the blue dress. It required being tied in the back, but I couldn't get my fingers to cooperate with me so the fabric hung loosely off of my body. Was this what is was going to be like for the rest of my life?

How long would I even live in this world?

I had never been strong before.

My parents never pushed me towards sports other than track so I didn't know the first thing about really working out. This world use to be a place where the strong conquered the weak, and if I didn't figure out a way to become one of the strong I had a feeling I was going to end up dead.

"Go get the girl" Centipede spat loud enough for me to easily hear." I took a deep breath as the deadbolt slid out of place and the door began to open. The large feathered man walked in and grabbed my arm once again to lead me out of the small room.

The next room wasn't much bigger, with few pieces of furniture and trash scattered across the floor. It was mostly paper from what I could tell in the dim lighting. The only big difference to this room was that there was a window. Feathers dragged me past it and I almost screamed at what was outside.

There was nothing but a barren wasteland, with charred trees dotting the land. Everything was black or brown. I could feel the world outside rotting away. How could this have happened to our planet? It had once been so vibrant and full of life. I was forced down into a chair as I continued to stare outside of the window. Mumblings reached my ears, but that's all they were as my mind tried to wrap itself around what had happened. It was bad enough hearing Centipede tell me about it, but what was worse was seeing it with my own eyes.

I felt Centipede's hand smack against my skin, but the sting didn't follow. I had become numb as tears threatened to spill from my eyes, but never quite reached the brim. She was yelling now, I could faintly make out the sound of her voice telling me to eat or starve. Food was placed in front of me, and like a robot I did as was told. Taste never registered as I slowly finished the food.

I was lead back to my room sometimes after the food had been finished. Other people had been at the table, some were different, like feather man, others were dirty and scared looking. I didn't really pay attention to anyone's faces. More people for auction I guess. Vaguely I wondered how long Centipede had been selling off people to make money, but I couldn't find it in me to truly ponder the question.

Everything was gone.

I was never going back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Kagome**

* * *

Centipede's lackeys were pushing all of us in a line towards a rusted vehicle connected to hour horse like steeds. There were ten of us in all, but I was the only one wearing anything remotely clean. Everyone else was covered in dirt and grime and were shackled, some with weird devices over their hands or around their necks. I was the only one not being bound. I could have run, but what would I be running towards? There was nothing around me but a barren wasteland, and in this bright blue dress I was brighter than the sun. An easy target for the weapons held in the hands of the demons around me. There was one girl under Centipedes command that almost looked human. Almost like a normie I guess they would say. I would almost believe it except for the hair she was using to bind most of my fellow prisoners with. She was so adept at controlling it that it must have been a part of her, and if I knew people like I thought I did, her power would condemn her as a demon instead of another fire ball throwing normie.

It felt strange using their words, but I was doing my best to assimilate into my environment. Once our group was close enough to the truck I was pulled away from the rest of the prisoners and was stood between Raven, the man covered in black feathers, and Yura, the woman controlling the hair. I didn't move as Centipede walked over and lifted my face so she could look me in the eye.

"The light is finally receding from your eyes. Maybe you'll make it in this world after all, little time traveler." She walked away slowly, watching her cattle load up into the truck. These people looked scared. I should have felt scared too, but instead I simply watched. Once the truck was loaded it pulled away and another vehicle pulled up behind it, this one smaller with only two horses. It wasn't as rusted, but it looked like death to me all the same. It wouldn't matter who bought me, terrible things were going to happen in this world and there would be no one around to save me.

An hour into the ride Yura began talking.

"You know who this one reminds me of? That bitch Kikyo," Her red eyes hadn't left my face since the ride began. I would have normally found it unnerving, but this whole world was unnerving.

"Who's Kikyo?" I asked quietly.

"A normie bitch with strong powers. Apparently she has the ability to purify water with the touch of her hand and could kill demons with a single hit from an arrow. I heard she was finally killed a couple years ago." Yura laughed and began combing the hair on a skull she had brought with her. "Such a shame I wasn't there to take her beautiful black hair. I'm sure it felt like silk."

"Even if this one does look like her, she's the most useless normie there is. She hasn't been exposed to any radiation yet so she doesn't have any powers." Centipede said while watching Raven steer the horses. I stayed quiet after that as they began complaining about Kikyo's 'reign of terror' for demons everywhere. This woman made it her life's mission to purify or kill any demon she could. I wonder what they meant by 'purifying a demon'. How could you purify someone?

The car began to slow as we approached a large, run down building with makeshift scaffolding built around it.

"The other slaves are going to a much tamer auction, while you, pet, are going to be sold here to the richest demons and most perverse normies there are!" Yura laughed as she began combing my hair. "It's a shame I didn't get more time with you, I could have made you look like quite the princess," Yura licked her lips as she looked over me once more. Raven tied my dress for me, leaving it tight against my skin. It was as short as my uniform had been, leaving it at just mid-thigh and was so low cut in the front Centipede had demanded I removed my bra because it looked 'tacky'. I took a deep shuddered breath as I was dragged from the car by Raven and lead to the crumbling building before me.

My urge to scream was kicking in once again as the door opened and all manner of beasts and demons met my eyes. I knew they were just people who had no control over what happened to them, but some of them looked downright terrifying. I kept my eyes to the floor as we walked through the main floor towards the podium-ed stage. Centipede pulled a string of gems out of her breasts and handed it to the man by the curtain who looked over them before allowing us to pass. Behind the curtain were terrible monsters chained up, or caged, with owners trading remarks over them like they were little more than furniture. Raven dragged me to a corner where Yura began brushing makeup onto my face and brushing up against me. She made noises in the back of her throat when her breasts brushed against my own.

"Oh how I would have loved to use you pet, but Centipede feared someone would catch wind that we had an unspoiled human girl." She licked her lips again as she grabbed my face and applied lipstick to my lips. "I would have loved to spoil you before you had to leave," She pulled away from me with a hungry glare in her eyes. I stayed silent and still as Centipede looked me over.

"You did a good job Yura, and you're correct, in this lighting she does look like Kikyo. Put her hair up and maybe we'll be able to fool these dimwitted men into thinking they can buy the real demon killer." Yura clapped and jumped up and down, eager to play with my hair. As numbers began to be called and monsters, items, and other people were moved to the stage I began to become nervous. I didn't want this. I didn't want to be here. What was I doing here? My guards were relaxed, not paying attention to anything other than who was offering what for which sale. My hand wrapped around something smooth and wooden and before I realized what I was doing I had bashed it into the back of Raven's head. The monstrous pile of feathers went down with a cawing scream as Yura turned around to face me.

"That was a bad idea little pet," She growled at me as I backed further into the corner. I reached for anything else I could use as I had dropped my wooden bat with my first attack. Something sharp struck my hand and I did the only thing I could think to do. I grabbed it and swung it at Yura, burrowing it into the side of her neck and lobbing off half of her long black hair.

"That was a mistake," She said and she began prying the sharp piece of metal out of her neck. I ran around her and had almost made it behind the stage when a strong man grabbed my arm and escorted me to the podium.

The lights were blinding as the announcer began to speak.

"And now, ladies and gentleman, we have a rare find! The demon killing priestess herself; Kikyo!" Gasps were herd around the room followed by murmuring voices. I wanted to scream that my name wasn't Kikyo but the bidding began immediately. Numbers were racking up so fast I couldn't believe it.

What was scarier was the things I could hear from the people in the front row.

"If I had the jewels I would buy her just to hang her carcass up in the trees like she did my brother."

"They should just kill her instead of auction her! She's a menace to our kind!"

I made the mistake of looking to the left to see Yura staring at me, just beyond the blinding lights of the stage. She took the liberty of cutting off the rest of her long black hair. In her hand was clenched the piece of metal I had stuck in her neck. Murder was the look in her eyes. Raven stood next to her, holding her back, but his black eyes told the same story. I was dead.

A deep, menacing laugh erupted for the seat below as a man stood up and began walking to the front. I hadn't been paying attention to the auction, but the man grabbing my arm whispered menacingly to me "Well Kikyo, it looks like you've been sold off to a man that will take care of you once and for all."

The man that stepped onto the stage had long black hair with bright red eyes. He wore a purple silk kimono in what I could tell as perfect condition.

"Well sir, please come claim your winnings," The auctioneer said after the man dumped a bag into the auctioneer's hand. The man took slow steps towards me, a grin on his face.

"Oh Kikyo, I am going to make you suffer for what you've done to me." As he grabbed my hand as a door slammed open, bringing mist into the room.

"UNHAND HER YOU SCUM!" A man yelled as he ran up to the stage, giant sword in hand.

"What kind of fool are you to oppose me?" The man who bought me began to laugh as huge bugs began swarming around the room. People began screaming "It's Naraku!" or "The Saimyosho were going to poison them." And still the man with the sword continued to run towards the stage. I did my best to pull away from the strong man, but his grip would not budge. 'Naraku' Stepped closer to me as the sword man jumped onto the stage. His hair was silver and incredibly long, while his eyes were like gold fire.

"You unhand Kikyo right now you filthy vulture!" The silver-haired man said. I continued trying to pry myself out of my captors grip as Yura and Raven began walking towards me.

"Let go of me!" I screamed as a searing pain began at my wrist where the man was holding me. He looked down and screamed as he skin began turning purple and blistering. I pulled my hand away and began to run for the door. I didn't know what was happening, but I certainly wasn't sticking around to find out. Screaming and yelling continued behind me as the silver-haired man followed me, calling for Kikyo.

I wasn't this Kikyo girl.

I was just Kagome.

I wanted to go home.

I felt a shiver run down my spine as words invaded my brain.

 _Run while you can, Kikyo, but I will find you._

And I did run. I ran until my tired legs gave out and I couldn't stand any longer. I collapsed on the ground in an exhausted heap.

"Kikyo?" A soft voice asked. "Is it really you?"

I didn't get the chance to respond before my vision went black and there was nothing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Kagome**

* * *

I awoke to the sounds of a campfire. I was warm, covered in something that smelled like the forest and fresh air. My lungs hurt from running and my legs were sore as I opened my eyes. The sky was beginning to lighten as the sun rose, leaving trails of pale sunlight through the clouds. My eyes scanned my unfamiliar surrounds as they fell on the man across from me. His gold eyes were staring at me intently as his arms were crossed over his chest. Leaning against him was a worn looking sheathed sword.

His hair was silver and his features were soft, until he noticed I was awake.

"Care to explain why you just up and left Kikyo?' His voice was hard, but there was a tinge of pain in his words, just barely perceptible.

"My name's not Kikyo," I said quietly, sitting upright and letting the red material that had been covering me fall to my lap. "My name is Kagome, they were selling me under false pretenses."

"There's no way you're not Kikyo," he growled. "You look exactly like her!" I sighed. What had Kikyo been to this man? Family? A lover? Her disappearance must have hurt him so much for him to be staring at me like this. His eyes boring into my skin, trying to memorize every movement. If only I were her, maybe I would have been able to protect myself.

"Do I sound like Kikyo?' I asked, raising my voice just slightly. "Listen, I woke up three days ago from a cryogenic sleep to be thrown into this world of- of- of monsters and deadly water and radiation poisoning!" I started to stand, ignoring the protesting of my legs. "I have no idea where I am or what I'm supposed to do, and all I've heard since I woke up is how I look exactly like that woman!" I was yelling now, letting my feelings out on this man I didn't even know. I looked down at the fabric that had been covering me. It was the top to his kimono. I sighed, reaching down and tossing it at him. "So now I'm just going to go!" I stormed off, feeling my legs protest with every step I took. I was exhausted, confused, lost. I was probably going to end up dead. But I had to keep moving.

"Wait Kik-" the man began and I spun on my heel before he could finish his sentence.

"Kagome. My name is Kagome!" I screamed, stopping him in his tracks.

"Kagome," He said finally after staring at my face. "Let me at least take you to a nearby settlement, somewhere you'll be safe." His golden eyes were staring at me, searching for something that wasn't there.

"Fine," I said quietly, feeling the energy drain right out of me. I was so tired from running, so exhausted from not moving much since I woke up. I use to run track, that should have been nothing. 'You've been asleep for over a hundred years,' I muttered to myself as I followed the man in front of me. Absently realizing I didn't even know his name. As if sensing my thoughts he sighed and looked back at me over his shoulder.

"My name's Inuyasha." His voice was soft this time.

"Nice to meet you," I said quietly, staring at the small, silver dog ears stationed on top of his head. I wondered what it would feel like to touch them as I continued following him, feeling sicker and sicker the longer I walked.

Without warning a terrible cough seized my body and I doubled over, unable to breathe. Faintly I could hear Inuyasha yelling at me, yelling for me to stand, to look at him, to breathe. The fit began to end slowly as my vision pulsed in and out, causing large black spots on the edges. I collapsed on the ground, wheezing as the world fell around me.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

The girl looked unmistakably like Kikyo. There was no doubt in my mind that this had to be some cruel form of a joke. I pulled her onto my back, hearing her heartbeat reassuringly as I continued on. It would be easier to travel like this. If she stayed asleep I could simply dump her off with Kaede and be done with the impostor.

She was so warm. I forced myself to focus on the dirt road ahead of me, coming to a fork. I could either travel through the ruins of Tokyo, which would take less time, but there was a higher risk of bandits and demons, or I could take the mountain trails up towards the old shrine on the hill, which would take longer, but would be safer. As I pondered my decision the girl stirred on my back, mumbling something about 'Hojo' and 'I love you.' I knew the words weren't meant for me, but my heart quickened as I realized how close her face was to mine.

I grumbled and decided to take the mountain path as Kik- Kagome was going to be nothing but light weight.

I walked for hours, surveying the land around me for signs of demonic activity or bandits. It's true that the ruins of cities were most dangerous, but that didn't stop thugs from hiding in the safety of the trees on the outskirts of such towns. Kagome moved again, irritated and mumbling about a 'math test'.

I shook my head as I found a spot to stop for the night. Maybe she would wake soon and I wouldn't have to deal with her scent any longer. I set her down gently, covering her once again with my shirt. I started another fire and sighed as the girl slept on.

She said she had just awoken from 'cryogenic sleep' or whatever that is. Why would she be so tired if she's already slept for so long? A growl crept into the back of my throat as I started getting irritated with the girl. It wasn't her fault she was so tired but it was going to take three days to get her to Kaede's settlement at this rate.

My growl must have startled her because she jumped, opening up her large brown eyes and she scanned the area wearily. She looked like she was going to scream for a moment until she blinked a couple of times and took a deep breath. She sat up slowly as I watched. She may not _be_ Kikyo, but this was the closest thing I had to seeing Kikyo.

"What does it feel like to have the radiation affect you?" Her voice was quiet and rasped, her fingers clutching at her throat.

"I don't know, I was born with the radiation I guess. It doesn't do much to me now except give me a bit of a cold if I'm exposed too long, why?" I raised my eyebrow at her.

"I wasn't born in this time… it's going to mutate me isn't it?' Her eyes were filling with tears as she wheezed in and out. I guess it was a good thing I decided to take the mountain path instead of the city. In the ruins there were huge patches of radiation that most people avoided, but they still affected local areas. This girl would have died from a strong dose at one time.

"You'll be lucky if you don't grow ears or fangs," I said, spitting.

"I just don't want to die yet," her voice was trembling, too low for a normie to hear it. I did my best to ignore it.

"I'm giving you twenty more minutes to rest before we start walking," I tried not to sound so harsh.

"It's pitch black out here, how are we supposed to see?" She tilted her head to the side, large brown eyes watching me intently.

"Well along with superhuman strength I have a heightened sense of smell and sight," I boasted.

"As do I," a raspy voice screeched from behind me. I had been so focused on the girl I didn't notice the stench of dried blood or feathers as the creature approached.

Kagome screamed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Kagome**

* * *

Raven was standing behind Inuyasha, his bright red eyes glowing in the darkness of the night. A high pitched scream hit my ears and slowly I realized it was me. Inuyasha looked at me with vague annoyance as he turned towards the walking heap of feathers.

"Centipede is not pleased you ran away," the heap of feathers shook in what I could only assume was a laugh. "She's sent me out here to retrieve you for Lord Naraku." My skin crawled at the sound of that man's name. I began to whimper before another cough began to consume my body. I gripped at my throat, falling to my knees. My whole body was feeling weaker and weaker the more time I spent here.

'Where else are you going to go? You can't go back home,' my inner voice reminded me. Inuyasha looked at me with worry for just a second before turning back to face Raven.

"Sorry to burst your bubble but Naraku isn't getting shit." Inuyasha pulled his sword from its sheath. I watched in awe as the sword grew as if by magic. It looked like a giant fang from a dog with white fur by the handle. Inuyasha held it with one hand, the other tossing the sheath in front of me. "If anything happens, use that to protect yourself," He yelled back at me, turning his full attention to the bird in front of him. Raven cawed out of anger and beat his huge wings, sending him into the air. Inuyasha swung his huge sword as he ran forward, nicking the birds wing. Part of it was cut off, only to vibrate in the air and reattach itself to the bird. Inuyasha made a grumbling noise as I stared in horror.

This thing could heal itself?

I whimpered, grabbing the sheath of Inuyasha's sword and holding it to my chest. Inuyasha continued to slash at Raven as the bird flew slightly above his head. At one point Inuyasha chopped off a foot. It feel to the ground with a sickening sound only to shake violently and fly back up to wards the bird. I gulped, looking around for anything I could use to help. Just beyond the tree line of our little clearing laid the bones of humans and demons alike, some still wearing their armor and weapons even though death claimed them long ago. The bones should have creeped me out as I crawled towards them, looking for something I could use. I gulped, pushing my hands into the brush looking for anything that could help. My hand rested on a metal bow with a taunt string, still in almost perfect condition. Slowly I wrapped my hand around it, feeling the rightness of it.

What felt like only a few months ago Hojo had been showing me how to shoot a bow after school. I wasn't nearly as proficient as Hojo, but I could at least hit the target... if it was standing still. Inuyasha continued hacking at the bird, sometimes slinging body parts towards me, only for them to reattach themselves soon after. I watched patiently, waiting for an opening. A large piece of leg flew towards me, almost hitting me in the face. I caught it clumsily and started scrounging around for anything I could use to attach it to the arrow in my hand. My eyes fell on a torn piece of cloth and I reached for it as the bloodied foot in my hand began to pulse and pull itself towards Raven.

I tied the leg to my arrow sloppily and notched it to the bow. I took a deep breath, feeling something in my body still and expand. The bow and arrow began to heat in my hand, reminding me of when I had escaped Naraku's grasp. It didn't hurt me like I had originally thought, but instead made me feel steady and warm. I took one more deep breath before letting the arrow fly in the direction of Raven. I was mesmerized by the movement of the arrow as it flew through the air, first turning red, then settling on a pale purple, burning its color into my eyes as it made contact with the bundle of feathers and flesh. I sunk to my knees as Raven cawed out in pain before turning a bright purple and… deteriorating. First his feathers melted away exposing his red flesh, then the flesh followed, leaving nothing but a pile of bones and a black tar substance.

I sat in disbelief as Inuyasha turned, scanning the surroundings.

"Kikyo!" he yelled, before realizing I was the only one around. His gaze became accusing and then finally he strode towards me, yanking me up by my hair. "Did you see a girl run by here?"

"No," I winced as he let my hair go and I fell back to the ground.

"It had to be her! She's the only one that can shoot purifying arrows like that!" Inuyasha was storming around the clearing, sniffing the air. I looked down at the bow in my hand and the quiver of arrows lying next to me.

"I shot the arrow," I said quietly, not really thinking he would hear me. He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide and incredulous. I looked up at him, scared he was going to yank me by the hair again. We stayed like that for what felt like hours, but could have only been a few seconds, a minute max. I was studying him, waiting for him to react. His eyes were boring into my skin again, looking for something that wasn't there. Some sort of link to this Kikyo, a girl I was starting to think meant more to him than the moon and the stars.

"You shot the arrow?" he finally said. His voice almost sounded broken, like I had taken the life right out of him.

"Raven wasn't dying, he just kept reattaching the pieces you were flinging around with your sword. I don't know why I thought it would work, but I wanted to help you so I attached a foot to an arrow and I shot it at him. I knew it wouldn't miss because all of the pieces always flew back to him but I didn't actually think I was gonna…." The words came out in a rush as tears were streaming down my face and I hiccupped, feeling lost and finally letting it sink in that this world was much different from mine. "I don't know what I did. I just let the arrow go and… I started to feel warm and then the arrow was glowing and then Raven was… bones. Just bones." I was sobbing now. If Inuyasha could understand what I was saying it didn't show on his face. Kikyo wasn't here, and she didn't shoot the arrow. I did. I felt useless and trivial as his eyes continued to search through me for her. I don't know why it hurt so badly that he was searching for someone else in my eyes, but it did.

Before I could register fully what I was doing I stood and ran from him in the direction I had assumed we were traveling. I had no idea where this settlement was, but the faster I could get away from Inuyasha and stop hurting him, the better. The moon was starting to set as the sun was rising, but in the shadows of the forest it was an uneasy twilight. I couldn't help but feel like something was watching me, more eyes boring into me. I kept running, much like I did when I escaped the auction house, my legs aching from the strain of the activity. If I ever made it somewhere safe I was going to exercise until I was strong enough to protect myself. I would never have to rely on someone like Inuyasha ever again.

Just thinking about him made my chest hurt in a way I didn't understand. It wasn't like the nervous crush I had on Hojo. I must have felt indebted to him for saving me, even if all he did was provide the distraction so I could flee from that awful auction house and the man that had paid for me. The man that told me I was going to pay for something I hadn't even done. My tears were clouding my vison and I didn't see the dip in the ravine, the hill leading down to the river below, or the faint glow of the water I was quickly covered in. My body hurt from the fall and my head was spinning to the point that it was hard to think. But I remembered faintly that most water sources were still very irradiated.

I climbed out of the water quickly, crawling up the hill on the opposite side from where I had fell. Pain was lacing through my leg as I stopped to see a very sharp piece of metal sticking out of my leg. I hadn't realized I had run with the bow and arrows firmly in my grasp. Now the tip of one of those arrows was sticking out of my leg, the shaft broken off. Blood was running slowly from the wound, coating my skin in red as it ran.

A loud growl alerted me to the presence of something in the brush close by, just out of sight.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

The scream is what finally alerted me to the fact that the girl was gone. I had been staring at her for so long my brain must have frozen and not realized she had left. It was a pained, gurgling scream. I rushed after her scent, quickly picking up blood mixed with water. This was bad. She hadn't been exposed to anything more than a few radioactive pieces of land that couldn't even hurt a newborn. But water… Water could affect someone's mutation, sometimes causing it to change for the worse. Even though it had never affected me much I still did my best to avoid it if I could.

When I had finally reached the girl she was stabbing an arrow into the neck of a wolf that was latched onto her leg. She kept pulling the arrow back and stabbing it, sometimes flares of reds or purple would engulf the arrow, causing the wolf to cry out and let her go. She was bleeding, badly, and if I didn't get her to Kaede soon she would die.

I picked her up ignoring her protest, throwing the arrow from her hand so she wouldn't stab me. One good hit with a purifying arrow and I could lose any demon powers I had, or I could be killed. It was always a tossup. That's what had made Kikyo so terrible in the eyes of the demon community. Her arrows could cure you of irradiation, or kill you. No one had really figured out how to determine the outcome beforehand.

"What are you doing?" She yelled out, weakly struggling against my hold

"You're going to bleed out if we don't get you to Kaede's!" I growled at her. She froze, looking down at the blood now soaking my clothes. The blue wrap she was currently wearing was tattered and slipping open. I blushed as her breasts rested against my shoulder, barely covered. I set her down awkwardly peeling my top off again and handing it to her.

"Put this on," I said throwing it over her face. "Take off that blue whatever you're wearing." I turned away from her, not making eye contact. I heard the distinctive rustling of fabric as she did as I asked, little gasps of pain escaping her mouth as she changed. When she stopped moving I turned to face her slowly. She sat on the ground, my kimono wrapped around her, using the sleeves as a way to secure it to her waist. I took the blue fabric from the ground and ripped it apart, using it as a tourniquet around the wolf bite on her leg. Her skin was soft under my touch as my figures brushed against it, tying a knot as tight as I could. She shivered. Without warning I picked her up, carrying her in front of me this time instead of on my back. I did my best not to jostle her as I ran through the forest, using scents from the nearby settlement to lead me towards Kaede.

The girl in my arms continued to shiver, sometimes shaking violently. Blood was still trickling from her wound. She was going into shock from blood loss, her eyes fighting to stay open. I didn't know what to do so I kept repeating that she should stay awake.

"I'm so… tired," She said, leaning into my chest. Her breath was warm on the exposed flesh causing goosebumps to form there. I ran faster as my cheeks began heating up. I barely knew this girl in my arms but she didn't deserve to die like this.


	6. Chapter 6

**Kagome**

* * *

Sun was hitting my eyes as I rolled over. At first the pain was dull, something I could ignore. But then it began grating at my nerves, causing me to scream out in both frustration and agony.

I sat up, my eyes still not adjusted to the pale light of the room. I felt flushed and light-headed, my body moving while I was sitting completely still. Everything spun as I did my best to breathe. Just breathe. Things began to glow in a weird light, some of them blue or red, even hints of purple played across my vision. Inuyasha was there, his silver hair catching fire in the light, pulsing red and purple, intertwining him in a dance of colors.

I could feel myself retching even though I didn't move. It was surreal, everything happening at once.

I could hear his voice, reassuring and strong, and then it was gone, replaced with the rasping voice of an older woman. Green flecks bounced off of her as she whispered words of healing and strength. Warm liquid entered my mouth and ran down my throat causing me to gag.

I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep.

I never wanted to wake up.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

"She fell in a ravine, I'm pretty sure this is radiation sickness," I muttered to Kaede as she continued her healing spells and sutras. The girl was in bad shape, muttering incoherently about wanting to sleep. She could barely sit upright and her eyes wouldn't focus.

"Ye say she's never been around the radiation before?" Kaede said quietly, studying the girls face. I could see pain there, in both Kaede and Kagome. Kaede was seeing her daughter, Kikyo, while Kagome was fighting off death.

"Yes you old hag." I puffed out my cheeks and turned my head away from the sorry sight. Kikyo would never have let this happen to herself.

"The girl may die yet, or if luck be on her side she'll pull through. Nothing is certain in this moment." Kaede's rough voice was soft and low and she spoke to the girl, trying to calm her. "Inuyasha, travel to the bone well and pick some of the green leafed Orchids that are there. They help relieve fevers."

I was gone before she could turn her head, silently thankful for anything that could pull me away from the sorry sight of that girl.

She had the same purification abilities Kikyo had, yet she couldn't even use them to purify the radiation threatening to swallow her whole. She was essentially useless.

I ran towards the bone eater's well, the place the village would dump the bones of demons dumb enough to try messing with them. From the look on the outside the village was full of people only mildly hit with radiation, people that could help crops grow or call forth rain. Kaede, however, was once a very talented, and feared, priestess, capable of many of the feats Kikyo herself had performed. In Kaede's old age her powers had waned, but the village was strong with the thought of the priestess on their side.

I stopped in front of the ruins of the old shrine surrounding the well. The place was once a family's shrine, though it had long since fell to the radiation and weather that plagued these heights. Beautiful orchids grew here, but all with varying colors and potentcies for potions and healings.

I stopped in front of a patch with green leaves, tipped with blue and red petals. To the left there were more orchids with green leaves, but these boasted deep purple petals and blue stalks that tapered to green.

"Why couldn't the old woman have been more specific," I growled pulling each of the plants up by the roots, careful not to damage the stupid petals or leaves. Once my arms were full of the stupid plants I ran back to Kaede, my heart hammering in my chest as I did. Why was I so worried about that girl anyway? Was it because she looked so much like Kikyo?

I put a hold on my thoughts as I barged into the hut, dropping the flowers at Kaede's side. She glanced up at me silently, shaking her head slightly as she began sifting through the flowers, finding the ones that she needed. As silent as she could manage she began crushing the petals of some of the flowers into a paste. Once that step was done she rolled the paste into a ball and lifted Kagome's head up, forcing the ball of paste into the girl's mouth.

She screamed.

Every time she screamed I could feel more of me being tugged to her, wanting to help, wanting to do something to lessen her pain.

I left the room again, my eyes scanning the horizon for something to do to keep me busy. Villagers shied away from me, fully aware of my temper and ability to knock them out cold if they got on my bad side.

This particular village hosted one of the largest radiation free lakes on the islands, as far as I knew. Kikyo's powers were rare, but that didn't mean she was the only one that could purify water. I remember watching her standing in the middle of the shallow water, hands pressed just on the surface as the lake began glowing faint reds and purples. She stood like that for three days, her face in full concentration. She had a fever much like Kagome did now once everything was over, but she did the unthinkable. She gave the children and area to swim in, fish without mutations were born in the river giving everyone a better food source. There were less sick and hungry around the village all thanks to Kikyo.

Unlike Kagome, however, Kikyo knew how to get rid of the radiation in her body and was back to being healthy within a day.

Kagome had been writhing in that bed for three days now with no signs of improvements. I growled, climbing the nearest tree with little effort, watching the water go by, sparkling in the sunlight. Why had that stupid girl run off anyway?

Was it something I did…?

Was this my fault?

I growled again, waiting for some form of news, some sound from the small shack to indicate that Kagome was better… or gone.


	7. Chapter 7

**Kagome**

* * *

I sat up quietly in the middle of the night. The old woman with grey hair was fast asleep, leaning against a wall with a worn leather book in her hands. Inuyasha was against the wall, muttering in his sleep about stupid old hags and bothersome girls. I took a deep breath before trying to move, weakly remembering the last time I had attempted such a thing. My vision was a bit blurry, flecks of unnatural color sparking in the darkness, showing me things that weren't there. I took another deep breath, closing my eyes to still myself. My head was no longer so light it could have flown away, and even though my limbs were still sore I was positive they would move with little complaint.

I ground my teeth as I attempted to stand, waiting for more pain to set in, for another episode of the semi-out-of-body experience to take hold of me and cause me to empty out my stomach. I waited, but there was nothing. As silently as I could manage I made my way out of the wooden shack, taking in the night air, the cool breeze, and the light of the almost full moon.

Everything was calm.

I took one look at the water in front of me, waiting for the haze of light green that would tell me it was irradiated, the same green that had clung to Raven's bones after he had deconstructed. There was nothing but the water itself, shifting in small waves against the bank. I let my feet dip into the small lake, waiting for sickness to claim me again but it was simply cool and refreshing against my aching body. I waded deeper into the lake, allowing it to wash away the dried blood on my leg. Carefully I unwrapped Inuyasha's kimono from my body, dipping it into the water and washing the blood from the red fabric. The old woman had been kind enough to wrap bindings around my torso, covering my breasts from the cool air. Someone had slipped shorts on me, covering up some of my legs, but still letting me see where the wolf had bit into me.

I would be lucky if it didn't leave a scar.

I continued scrubbing at the blood on Inuyasha's kimono until I was satisfied that it was gone. Carefully I made my way to the bank to set the piece of clothing on a rock to dry.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

She had slipped right passed me while I was deep in thought, my eyes closed. It took me a moment to realize she had left the room.

Now I felt like a creep, watching her soak in the pond, the moonlight glinting off her black hair and the water surrounding her, making her look like a celestial being. I was grateful for the binding around her chest or else my face would probably had been on fire. I had watched her at first, wondering what she had been doing with my Kimono, but even from this distance I could no longer smell her blood on it.

A cough escaped the girl, causing me to focus more intently on her. She was doubled over, her face so close to the water. I panicked, letting my body react on its own. Mere seconds passed and I was in the water next to her. She didn't notice I was there at first, and as the coughs subsided she stood, taking in her surroundings once more. When she finally noticed me her eyes were wide and scared. I pulled her into me as she shook from the cold air around her.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing here?" her voice was soft and frail.

"I was just making sure you weren't dead," I muttered, my hand brushing over her hair. It was as soft as silk.

"Well I will be if you keep squeezing me like this," she muttered back. I pushed away from her, keeping my hands on her bare shoulders. Her skin was still warm from fever but she looked a lot better, her eyes focusing and adjusting to the light. Little fleck of variant colors crossed her brown eyes, giving them a mystical appearance.

In that moment I had never wanted to kiss anyone so much.

She coughed again, covering her mouth and pulling it back, her eyes going dazed as fleck of bright red blood appeared against her cream skin. She pulled away from me, washing the blood off in the water and wading to the shore, shaking her hair out before pulling it up into a messy bun.

"I need more rest," She finally said leaving me in the middle of the pond, her warmth still radiating in my palms.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

I could have sworn he was going to kiss me. I shuddered at the thought of him thinking about Kikyo while pressing his lips against mine. I pushed my bangs away from my forehead to feel the warmth of the skin there. I was still suffering from a fever and was probably just imagining things, like the lights dancing across his face and the way his gold eyes seemed to look at me this time instead of through me.

To a girl that probably wasn't even still alive.

I sighed, leaning against the wall of the shack, listening to the old woman's steady breathing. Trying to match my heart to the steady beat. Once my legs no longer felt like jell-o I made my way back to the mat on the floor. I pulled the warm blanket over my body and did my best to just ignore all thoughts of Inuyasha as I forced myself to plunge into the darkness, trying anything to get to sleep.

* * *

The next morning I was startled awake by Inuyasha's loud complaining and the gruff voice of the woman next to me. I sat up, rubbing my eyes to see my blanket covered in herbs and other plants I didn't recognize. I stayed silent as they continued to argue about the best cure for the radiation sickness I must be suffering from. I sighed, taking inventory of the aches and pains of my body.

My fever was gone.

My leg was stiff, but no longer in the same amount of pain I had experienced last night.

I could breathe without the threat of coughing up more blood.

I sat silently, eyeballing the two arguing parties, too caught up in their fight to notice that I was awake.

I sighed again and pulled myself out of the blanket, careful not to disturb the amount of flora that had been situated on top of me. I dressed in the clean clothes sitting next to my spot on the floor, all the while being ignored by the loud people in the shack.

"I'm going to stretch my legs," I finally said, loud enough for the two idiots to hear me. They stopped for only a second to stare at me before turning the blame on the fact that I had escaped their notice while I left the shack.

The sun felt brighter than what I had become use to in this wasteland. The tress around the small village were large with green leaves and full branches. I was dressed similarly to the old woman in red pants and a white kimono tucked into the pants. I pulled my hair out of the messy bun I had slept in and ran my fingers through it, detangling the strands as I walked through the throngs of people. Most of them looked like your average everyday person, unless you looked close enough to see the red tint in someone's eye or wings protruding from beneath their robes. None of them took much notice of me as I walked, keeping my distance but smiling towards friendly faces.

In the distance I could see the arch of a shrine and for a moment my breath caught in my throat. There was a tree, one I could recognize from any angle, its shady branches looming over the wreckage of an in caved roof. Everything looked destroyed from a distance. I picked up my pace, running towards the hill, my feet finding it difficult to keep up with my brain.

My bare foot hit the cold crumbling rock that had once formed the steps up to my family's shrine and I ascended, ignoring the calls behind me. Inuyasha's voice didn't reach my brain, his hands grasping at the fabric of my clothing, but not able to pull me back, to keep me from seeing the destruction caused by the years of destitution and the nuclear bombings.

My body stilled at the top of the hill, my heart lurching at the destruction. The old well was barely covered, the shrine keeping it enclosed all those years ago was little more than useless wood. The courtyard connecting my home and the shrine was rubble, some pieces still intact while other were overturned, jutting outward, some mere pebbles under tow.

My home was in ruins, the wall of my bedroom was destroyed, showing the faded pink of my comforter, now dirty and faded with age. The yellow of my walls were also faded and peeling. Inuyasha tried reaching out to me, comforting me, but I pulled away, moving forward. Stepping over sharp pieces of cobblestone and prying the front door open to no avail. Strong arms reached around me, pulling the door off its hinges. I heard it fall against the wall. I could hear the apology in Inuyasha's voice, though the words didn't register.

I continued forward, cutting my feet on broken glass and stepping on broken pieces of wood and twisted metal. The house my mother slaved over to keep clean was the sight of a catastrophe. Nothing was in its place, the kitchen table little more than a broken heap of wood, bones scattered beneath it. I leaned down, picking up a collar with a word written across it, barely legible.

"Buyo," my voice was weak. I stood back up, stepping over the mess, clasping the collar tightly in my hand.

"Kagome," Inuyasha's voice finally registered. Funny, it was the first time he had ever said my name and I was having a mental breakdown.

"This is my family home." I finally said, bringing the collar to my chest. "Just last week I was sitting at this table teasing my brother about math tests and girls. Mom had made my favorite meal." Tears were streaming down my face. "Grandpa was trying to tell me about all of the old legends of demons and this shrine. How it was a sacred place, once full of magic and wonder." I whispered, looking around the mess of the kitchen, walking slowly towards the next room, stopping when I saw white bones sitting in the middle of the living room.

"You don't have to do this right now," He said finally. His voice soft as he pulled me into him. I shook my head, ignoring the nagging voice in my mind telling me I could always come back.

"If I'm going to handle this world I have to say good bye to my own." My eyes were set forward as I continued with this, walking straight into the living room.


	8. Chapter 8

**Inuyasha**

* * *

The girl had more guts than I gave her credit for as I followed her through the debris of her former home, her feet bleeding from the glass she so callously walked over. I barely knew the girl but I wanted to protect her from this mess.

She was determined, however, to see this through. She clutched the collar in her hand until her knuckles were white, surveying the pile of bones in the room we now stood in. They looked like they had been hunched over in prayer when they died.

"Grandpa," her voice was weak, but it was there as she took a shiny bauble from his hand. "He used to say there was a 'jewel of four souls' that had been entrusted to our family. Something we had to protect. He use to sell these little trinkets to the people who visited our shrine. As a form of protection." She examined the bauble, colors whipping across her eyes. She stood up, clasping the bauble to the collar and continued her way, attempting to walk up the steps.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I want to know where they all died… I need to know if any of them left to look for me. If they wasted their lives on me." She said finally, her jaw set in aggravation, as if I had asked her the stupidest question in the world. I picked her up, ignoring her protest, and jumped to the top of the stairs. Her breathing was shaky as I let her down.

This was probably a terrible Idea. She had just recovered from a terrible bought of radiation sickness only to subject herself to the psychological torment of her family's death. I'm sure she could have assumed that her family had died, but to actually see proof of it… I continued to stay close to her as she entered another room, another body of bones in the corner. From the amount of the bones and the length it had to be an adult.

"Mom." Her voice was firmer this time as she leaned down, finding another trinket her family member was holding. It was a picture frame, covered in dust with an old photo in it. It was a family, with a woman, an older man, Kagome, and a young boy. They all had smiles, much like most of the family pictures I had seen. Their smiles, however, looked genuine. She picked up the frame and looked around the room. Her eyes settling on a bag. She yanked everything out of it, dumping the contents on the floor before shoving her little mementos inside of it. Slowly, carefully, she pulled the bag over her head, allowing it to rest on one shoulder while the strap was draped across her body, the bag resting on the opposite hip. She continued rummaging through some drawers until she found clean clothes, things I was surprised weren't affected by the bombs. She shoved these in her bag too before moving onto another room.

This one was dull yellow with a shredded pink comforter laying across a broken bed. She went through a small closet until she pulled out some ankle boots. Sitting on the floor she began ripping pieces of glass out of her feet, only wincing occasionally. She must feel so numb. I sat on the bed, looking around the room. Faded photos were shoved into the broken mirror, a piece of faded paper folded and taped on a piece of glass.

"What's that?" I finally asked as Kagome pulled some off white socks onto her feet and slipped into the boots. At least I wouldn't have to worry about her stepping in more glass.

"That wasn't here before I left." She finally said, slowly reaching for the paper. She pulled it off gently, unfolding it. Her eyes scanned the paper, widening with shock before tears began brimming in her eyes, threatening to spill over.

"It's from my brother."

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

The numbness subsided long enough for a few tears to spill down my cheeks, but I didn't care. Sota survived the initial blasting. He wrote me a note, telling me that if I came home he wouldn't be here, exactly. A few survivors had found him and they were going to begin settling next to the pond by the house. Not too close to the water since it seemed to do weird stuff to people if they were next to it for too long.

They were going to take care of him.

I smiled as I read about how he took care of mom and grandpa until they couldn't move anymore and were too sick to keep going. He never left their side until they were already gone.

"Well what's it say?" Inuyasha was doing his best to keep the curiosity from his voice.

"Sota survived and helped build a village." I wiped my eyes.

"Sota? Like chief Sota of Kaede's village?" He asked I shrugged. It was possible. "That guy lived to be like a hundred and twenty! Oldest living normie ever to be seen. He was Kaede's grandfather or something like that."

"I guess that would make me her aunt," my voice was small, but I was finding my strength, slowly. Sota didn't just give up in this hellish world. He helped build a village, he grew up and had children. I looked over at my desk to see my old diary. I opened it to see an entry in it that I didn't write. The handwriting was familiar, but different. More matured.

'I never found you sis, but I never forgot you either. I hope this world didn't destroy you. I'm nearing my final days, I just had a granddaughter you know. She's a loud little thing. She certainly has your fire.' It read, with the date. Underneath it was a note in scrawled handwriting.

'He died peacefully in his sleep, we buried him by the house,' I picked the book up and shoved Sota's first note in the pages next to his last. With little though I slid the book into my bag.

"Anything else?" Inuyasha asked as I studied the room I had spent so much time in.

"I think that's going to be all for today," I said, leaving him alone in my room, doing my best to climb down the destroyed steps to the exit. A small smile was plastered on my face as I made my way back down towards the hut I could only assume was Kaede's. When I entered the old woman fussed over me, but I couldn't stop staring at her. Even in her old, wrinkled state I could see my mother in her face, and my grandfather in her hunched back and aching figure. I wrapped my arms around her neck, burying my face in her hair to remember her smell.

It was everything I could do to keep myself from crying this time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Inuyasha**

* * *

Kagome had been acting weird around the old hag, doting on her and doing everything she could to keep Kaede out of too much pain.

I was currently sitting on the roof of the hag's house as she instructed Kagome in how to properly shoot an arrow. The girl's stance was good, but she didn't have enough strength to really drive the arrow where it needed to be.

The least I could say about her was that she could hit the target most of the time.

The girl was trying hard, and as the wind blew, bringing her scent to me, I could almost imagine it was Kikyo…

Except Kikyo didn't smell like roses and vanilla.

Kikyo smelled like demon blood and forests. Like the ocean and dark, cold caves.

Kagome would never be Kikyo.

I laid down on my back, focusing on the clouds rolling across the pale sky. Occasionally Kagome would yell out in triumph only to have her hopes dashed by missing the next shot. I stayed there, listening for a long time before deciding it was time I left. I needed to find Kikyo after all.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

Inuyasha left a note, scribbled in the worst handwriting I had ever seen.

I felt sad for just a moment… until I didn't. That guy owed nothing to me. I tucked this note into my journal, next to Sota's, before crawling into the small bed Kaede had prepared for me. After telling her about our relation she welcomed me into her village permanently, introducing me to many of the village members. Soon I would have my own little house nearby.

It felt odd, settling into a place so close to my own home. In the week following my recovery I visited the ruins often, sorting through belongings long left to deteriorate in the harsh elements and to be snagged by local bandits. I was finally in my own clothing, which somehow managed to survive not only the blast but probably years of being sorted through and scavenged.

I wore my school clothes most days, feeling comfortable in the uniform. I even caught Inuyasha checking me out one day while I was working out in my gym shorts.

I stopped my train of thought there, not wanting to remember him. He needed Kikyo, a girl I was sure was dead. A girl I could never be.

I nestled further into the blankets surrounding me, doing my best to ignore the sounds outside.

Until there was a scream.

I shot upright, my hand immediately reaching for the bow next to my bed. I slung the quiver of arrows over my back as I darted outside in my pajamas consisting of a white t-shirt and a spare pair of gym shorts. I ran towards the source of the scream to stop at the center of town. An elder was being surrounded by village girls brandishing sharp objects, none seemed to be awake.

In fact all of them were floating in the air ominously. I pulled an arrow from the quiver, notching it, but keeping my bow aimed low. My eyes were bugging out again, casting colors where there should be none. I tried to get my eyes to focus when something sharp hit my cheek, slicing into it. I dropped the arrow to bring my hand up to my face, my fingers making contact with the weapon that assaulted my skin. It was as thin as string, but as strong as wire. I pulled down on it, causing it to cut into the skin of my fingers. Blood ran down one of the purple lines in my vision.

And that's when I understood. Ever since I woke up and was introduced to the high levels of radiation in the air, something people born in this time wouldn't even take notice of, something inside of me awoke, tapping into the flow of the world I was now in.

I wasn't just seeing random colors to confuse me.

It was just another way of processing data.

And the data I was processing came to one conclusion.

"Yura," my lips formed the word but I refused to let my voice leave my throat, instead creating a choking noise to anyone nearby.

Kaede ran out of her hut, also summoned by the screaming, something I had tuned out once I reached the center of town.

"Kagome!" Kaede's raspy voice called.

"They're being controlled by demon hair!" I finally yelled, snatching the arrow up from the ground. I took a deep breath and let my vision pulse, showing me where the threads were leading, and where they had come from. Yura was searching for me, probably for the same reason Raven had. I didn't know much about Centipede or her lackeys, but I could imagine she was the type of person that didn't like being humiliated and would do anything in her power to reverse what had been done.

She was going to continue sending her goons at me until I was returned to either her, or the man that had purchased me.

The purple threads began pulsing with a higher frequency than the threads around it as the girls raised their arms in unison. More people had entered the village center, trying to wake their sleeping daughters, trying to loosen their hold on their weapons.

If I didn't leave the village all of these people were going to be in danger.

I ran into the woods, towards the pulsing purple threads, ducking under the razor sharp, crisscrossing hairs in my way. My recent exercising was doing me some good; my muscles didn't begin burning until I was far out of the village limits, in the deep forest that once surrounded my family shrine.

Yura sat in a tree, combing the hair of a bleached skull. Unlike the last one, this skull's hair was red, much like blood.

"Ah, Kagome," Yura didn't look up at me as I approached, my steps echoing with the crunching of twigs and leaves underfoot, "you do know Centipede is absolutely furious at you. She knows you're the one that killed Raven. She sent me to bring you back," Yura's eyes finally snapped up, her red orbs catching me in her gaze like a fly in a spider's web, "dead or alive."


	10. Chapter 10

**So I try to keep the author's notes down to a minimum cause I think sometimes they can take away from the flow of a story. So… there's going to be a kind of rape scene in this chapter. Something I've never written before. I really want this fiction to be kind of dark because I don't know, I guess I've read so many sunshiney-happy ones that I want something… that makes my skin crawl thinking about it? Idk. And I guess I'll do my best to warn any readers ahead of time in case there are going to be scenes of intense violence/abuse/rape/ or even consensual sex cause who knows what some people don't wanna read. But umm anyway here goes nothing! Wish me luck.**

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

I could feel the hair digging into my skin, but so far I wasn't bleeding to death.

If only I could be bleeding to death instead.

Yura's hand ran up my leg, her finger nails digging in like the broken glass shards I had walked on to get into my home.

Only this wasn't my choice.

I just wanted her off of me.

A red bandanna was wrapped around my mouth, gagging me so that I couldn't scream. I couldn't alert anyone that I needed help.

"I've wanted to do this since I first saw you in that cryogenic tube. Little time traveler," Yura's tongue snaked out of her mouth and ran up my earlobe. A shiver running up my spine and my stomach tied itself in knots. This demonic hair manipulator was going to have her way with me, and then kill me. I could feel it in my bones. Yura's fingers continued their trail up my leg, making their way to my thighs. The nails dug in deeper as she pushed her body against mine, her teeth nibbling at my earlobe.

I tried fighting, shaking my body back and forth trying to wriggle out of my binds.

I tried screaming as she dug her fingers deep enough in my thigh to draw blood. She brought the bloodied fingers to her mouth and licked up the crimson liquid, her red eyes staring into my brown ones.

"If you try to fight me, I will tear you apart." Her voice was menacing. I stilled as she laughed, returning her fingers to their place on my thighs. "Now, you be a good girl and let me have my fun." I did my best not to move. To close my eyes and block it all out. The feeling of her skin against mine was like sandpaper grating against me. Her fingers crawling up my legs until they reached the fabric of my shorts. Yura giggled like a school girl as she bit into my neck, causing me to gasp out, not making as much sound as I needed to in order to draw someone's attention out here. She stopped, I could feel her face hovering in front of mine. "I want your eyes open." Her voice was calm and quiet. I didn't react, keeping my eyes closed and trying to count backwards from 100

99

98

97

Pain lanced through my neck as Yura's free hand dug her nails into my shoulder, causing my neck to snap away from it.

96

95

94

"You will open your eyes or I will kill the old lady," the harshness in her voice caused my eyes to snap open. "I know all about old Kaede, and I will kill her in front of you if you don't look at me." I nodded once. If Yura killed me that was fine. Even though I had been working hard in this new world I was still nowhere near strong enough to take care of anyone. If Yura killed Kaede simply for my pride and modesty then I would never be able to live with myself. If I even got to live.

"Good," Yura cooed, her fingers squirming beneath my shorts, digging under my underwear to my labia. One finger stroked my labia as the other began making small circles, searching for something in the folds of my skin.

I was still a virgin.

I had only taken a few health classes.

I didn't know the first thing about sex.

My body, however, was responding to the deranged woman even though my brain was very much against this invasion of privacy.

Please just kill me. Yura kept massaging my labia until she found what she was looking for. Tears were spilling from my eyes as she pushed a finger between the folds in my skin, pushing into the entrance of my vagina.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" A too familiar voice yelled. Yura barely took notice as she leaned forward, adding another finger inside of me, causing me to become more uncomfortable.

It wasn't until Yura was dragged away from me, her nails digging into my skin as she was taken, that I could finally look away from the demon. I could feel blood running down my legs, but all I cared about was the fact that she wasn't touching me anymore.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

Even though I told myself that I was leaving to find Kikyo, I couldn't stay away from Kaede's settlement for long. I was sleeping in a high up tree when the screams began. At first I thought they were simply being attacked by bandits. As calloused as it sounded I knew Kaede's people could survive a bandit attack. It wasn't until I heard the pleading and begging for the girls to put their weapons down did I realized I was very wrong. I had rushed to the center of the settlement to find girls hovering in the air, sharp weapons clutched in their hands. Scared farmers and parents were gathered around, doing their best to wake the slumbering girls.

Among the girls I couldn't seem to find Kagome.

Kaede's voice was quiet but sure behind me. "She left into the forest, something in her sight has lead her that way, but I fear she isn't yet strong enough to overcome the threat to our village. Not without help."

So I took off in the direction her blood was stemming from.

And that's how I got to where I was now, pulling some freak off of Kagome before she violated the girl any more than she already had. Tears were streaming down Kagome's face, blood down her leg from deep gashes and her shorts. I threw the female figure in my hands against a wall, hearing a satisfying crack as her head hit a tree waaayyyy too hard to allow her to keep breathing.

You know.

If she wasn't another one of those freaks like feathers for brains. As I was attempting to pull Kagome down from her invisible binds the girl behind me rose in silence, her head bent at an odd angle. Kagome was going crazy in my hands, and I couldn't get her to calm down. It wasn't until I removed the bandanna from her mouth did she scream, "Behind you!" as I was stabbed through the chest with a sword.

Fuck that hurt.

The sword was pulled out of my back, but the woman didn't have enough time to run it through me a second time as I jumped out of the way.

"Be careful Inuyasha! She can control hair!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I yelled at Kagome. Without explanation Kagome yanked her arm towards her chest, causing something to slice into her wrist. Blood began running across something that resembled a thin wire. It continued running down it, hitting an intersection of 'wire' and showing more of the once invisible substance. Once it hit the ground I was frozen. It was like a spider's web of sharp wire-like hairs.

"Fuck," was all I could manage.


	11. Chapter 11

**Kagome**

* * *

I was doing my best to remain calm as I watched Inuyasha in his deadly dance against Yura. He could barely hit her with his sword since the hairs were almost indestructible.

And there were so many of them.

My head was spinning, watching Yura attack and Inuyasha dodge, only to get thrown into a hair. Sometimes the hairs would snap harmlessly against the fabric of his kimono, other times it would slice into him, never deep enough to do much damage.

I was frozen in place as more hairs wrapped around my body, Yura controlling everything with a flick of her slim wrist. I was scared. I just wanted to get out.

'Then find a way down' a part of me said. I looked around, scanning the hairs around me until I found one that was brighter than the rest, the same way I had followed the hair to get here. I reached out for it, straining against my restrains lightly, trying not to cut into myself again. I knew Inuyasha had a heightened sense of smell and more blood would only distract him from what he was doing.

Yura was completely engrossed in her battle against Inuyasha, allowing my bindings to slip a bit. Just a bit.

That was all I needed.

The second my fingers made contact I thought of that warm feeling that left my body when I escaped Naraku and when I shot the arrow at Raven. My fingers began heating up and finally a blast of bright purple escaped my fingers, attacking the single strand of hair.

I fell to the ground with a yelp as all of the hair in the surrounding area fell limp. Yura cursed, her eyes searching for me. I hid behind a large tree trunk as Inuyasha bolted for her.

"Don't take your eyes off me you creep!" he yelled.

"Don't be silly," She laughed, causing my stomach to twist. "After I'm finished with that little bitch I'll be taking your beautiful head for that luscious silver hair of yours." Yura was eyeing Inuyasha, licking her lips.

"Fucking psycho," Inuyasha yelled, pulling his sword free and swiping at Yura. Her hair regained its placement, stopping the blow from connecting at the last second. She laughed again, throwing her head backwards. I took that opportunity to swipe my bow and quiver of arrows from the ground where I was once hanging. Yura didn't notice anything as I left the clearing, following the bright hairs deeper into the forest. I stayed close to the ground, being as stealthy as I could manage. I notched an arrow into the bow and continued forward cautiously. The lights were growing brighter the farther away I got from Yura, all of her hair seeming to spawn from one place…

And what a place it was.

Wrapped in the trees was a nest of hair and skulls. Decomposing bodies underneath the writhing mess. It was almost like it was its own entity. I swallowed hard, trying not to breathe in the scent of death. I wanted to puke.

My eyes scanned the mass and found one particular spot that shone brighter than the rest. I raised my bow, squaring my shoulders and steadying my legs, getting into a comfortable stance.

Just hit the mark.

Please hit the mark.

I released the arrow. At first it shot off like a regular arrow, but slowly a purple light erupted from the point, as it hit the mess of hair. Slowly, as if touched by acid the hair melted away as the arrow pushed against it, continuing to burrow into the mass until finally it hit it's mark, splitting open a red skull. An ear splitting scream erupted from Yura as I rushed forward catching the skull before it could shatter against the ground. I ran back towards Inuyasha and Yura, my strength beginning to wane.

Even though I had been training myself to use this gift of mine it was like a muscle. Unlike most muscles, however, it caused my body to momentarily shut down if I used it too much instead of leaving me sore.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

Kagome had disappeared, leaving me to deal with the freak with the hair. Typical girl, always running away when she was needed most.

What am I kidding, she was practically useless. She could have at least distracted freak girl here long enough for me to at least land a hit or figure out a _way_ to land a hit.

"Useless," I muttered under my breath as I slashed at Yura's sword, hitting hair instead. She stabbed me again in the shoulder. I ground my teeth together. As I was about to slash once again a bright light erupted from deep within the forest and Yura screamed, giving me the perfect opportunity. I pulled my blade back and it cleaved into the girl, splitting her almost in half. My blade got stuck around her stomach.

The bitch was still breathing, no blood leaving her body.

Well, it was more like panting really. I tried to dislodge my sword as Kagome burst into the clearing, falling to her knees.

"Inuyasha!" she cried out, rolling a red skull to my feet. "This is the source of her power!" Kagome was weak, her breathing more ragged then Yura's. I picked up the skull and crushed it in my hand, hearing Yura scream in agony. It was a beautiful sound. In the fragments of the skull sat a red comb with six hairs tied around it, so thick even I could see them. I held the comb in front of Yura, her eyes widening.

"I wish I could have you tell your boss not to bother sending another goon after Kagome, but you won't live to get there." I snapped the comb in half and watched as Yura turned pale, all of the color leaching from her as she turned into something similar to a statue… and then to dust. I turned to Kagome, to congratulate her on her finding the bitch's weak spot when my eyes found her.

She was passed out on the ground, her knuckles white from clutching the bow so tightly. Sweat was dripping down her forehead and her eyes were glazed over. She was breathing, but just barely. She had exhausted too much of her power too soon.

I was reminded of Kikyo when she was a girl, getting weak and lightheaded whenever she would over exert herself. Kagome had just woken up from sleep a few weeks ago and she was already trying to complete feats that took Kikyo years to master. The girl may have been behind in her abilities age wise, but at this rate she was going to surpass Kikyo in strength.

And that was going to make her a target for a lot of demons.

I sighed, picking the girl up. She protested weakly, still managing to hold on to some form of consciousness.

"Just put me down," She groaned, breathless. I adjusted her on my back, wrapping her arms loosely around my neck, her hand still clutching her bow. I picked up her quiver of arrows and the two pieces of Yura's comb. They had both been sent by Centipede. I would find a way to get this piece of trash to her as a message.

I could feel eyes on me as I left the forest. I should have paid more attention, but I was tired. Kagome might not have been heavy but I was growing weak from not training myself.

I guess if I was going to protect this idiot I should get back on that.


	12. Chapter 12

**Kagome**

* * *

It was always Inuyasha bringing me back to Kaede's. Always telling me that I should be more careful with what I was doing.

And now it was Inuyasha that was sitting on the floor arguing with me while I was trying to help bandage up his wounds.

"Can you please just let me help?" I finally yelled at him. "I feel bad enough as it is that you're always rescuing me, just let me do my part."

"There's no use in it!" he growled, finally pulling his shirt off so that I got an eyeful of perfectly sculpted abs, biceps, and pecs. I was doing my best to bring myself back to the task at hand when Kaede walked into the hut, her old bones cracking when she stopped.

"I see you two are getting along much better than you use to," she mused, chuckling under her breath.

"What was that you old hag?" Inuyasha yelled while standing. He huffed out, then faced me, frowning. "I don't need your help because my wounds are already healed. I may not heal as fast as the pile of feathers did, but I certainly heal faster than you do!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I stood, glaring back at him.

"You're nothing but dead weight!" he yelled at me, his golden eyes boring into my soul.

"Then stop trying to carry me!" I huffed, turning around and leaving him in the hut. I grumbled as I began stripping my clothes off, stopping at my bra and underwear. I didn't care that every single villager heard our argument, or that they were staring at me as I threw clothes off on my way to the lake. I dove in without a glance backwards, swimming to the very center. I surfaced long enough to breathe and then dove. Straight down.

I was tired of being a burden to everyone.

I knew I was weak.

He didn't have to shove that in my face.

I shut my eyes and focused on the burning feeling inside of me. I opened my eyes slowly, adjusting to the water pressure. I focused on air. I focused on needing to breathe. The oxygen in the water began to pool around me, forming a bubble around my head. I took a small breath. The air in this water was purer than the air on the surface. I breathed out slowly, watching the carbon dioxide leave the oxygen bubble and float up to the surface. I was so far down in the water than all you could see was a shadowy blur.

The sun was brighter under the water.

I continued taking small, slow breaths, doing my best to calm down. I needed to get a hold of these powers, to exercise them until they were as natural as breathing in this bubble.

A splash disrupted the water above me. Inuyasha had dived in, his two shirts completely removed as he swam down towards me. I closed my eyes, focusing the energy around me, trying to make the water push him up.

Kaede had told me tales of what Kikyo could do on a particularly strong day. She could command the tides if it suited her need.

I certainly needed it to suit mine.

Along with purification powers Kikyo was a master of healing, being able to heal dead crops by restoring water directly inside of them, or removing radiation sickness from children or the elderly, since those age groups were the most susceptible to it.

I firmly believed Kikyo was alive now, being able to wield just a small amount of the power she could use effortlessly.

A hand touched my shoulder before being pushed back up. I took another breath. The oxygen around me was slowly dissipating as I breathed, but I was okay with that. I wasn't at the point in my ability that I could simply make more oxygen. I had to push what I was able to do though. I had to aim higher.

He touched me again, this time I sent a shock through the water. Nothing that would kill him, just something to stun him. I kept my eyes closed as the water pushed him up again.

I could hear him surfacing to breathe, curses leaving his mouth. Didn't he understand I was training? Trying to command this ability so that I could help him find that woman that he wanted so badly.

Didn't he see that he hurt me with his words, always comparing me to a girl that was out of his reach? I was going to find her though. I was going to get her back for him. Then maybe I wouldn't feel so drawn to him, so happy to see him.

Maybe I wouldn't feel so attracted to him. I sighed, taking a deep breath afterwards and slowly swimming to the surface. I was beginning to feel light headed, and it wasn't because of the lack of air. I surfaced right next to Inuyasha, his curses freezing for a moment as he studied me.

"Are you stupid? You could have died!"

"I could have, but I didn't." I shot back, my eyes burning into his. I fought the dizzy feeling, instead focusing on the surprise on Inuyasha's face. "I'll help you find Kikyo, as long as once we do you promise to leave me alone and never bother me again."

"Why would I need your help!" he growled as I swam back to the bank, ignoring his tone.

"Because I have some of her same powers. If I can figure out how to work them I should be able to find her." My voice was stronger than I felt as I stood in the water. I looked over my shoulder, forcing myself not to stare at his dripping wet body and instead on his eyes. He was definitely checking me out, and for a moment I felt good about that, until I sighed, realizing he was probably just comparing me to that woman again. "You would be stupid not to take my help." I finally said. I left the water behind, wringing my hair out and walking as confidently as I could muster with everyone's eyes on me. A few of the village kids brought me my clothes and a towel, talking about how cool it was that I could hold my breath for so long and make Inuyasha worry like a baby.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

I couldn't breathe as she stood in the water. I had realized my words had probably hurt her and ran outside to apologize when I saw her head sink under the water. I hadn't noticed the kids picking up her discarded clothes. I flung my own shirts off, not wanting the fabric to weigh me down when I went after her.

I hadn't expected the current to be so strong, pushing me away from her every time I got closer. I also hadn't expected her to look so serene, her eyes closed and her soft features in a look of meditation. Something weird was wrapped around her head, and it was definitely pulsing.

I fought harder against the waves, little sparks of electricity igniting in the water. What the hell was going on?

Which brings me here. To staring at her.

She was wearing basically nothing.

Her body was soaking wet as she stood, she had said something about helping me find Kikyo, but right now she was the only thing on my mind. The fire in her eyes sparked something inside of me, my dick throbbing as her mouth moved.

And then she was gone, walking away as water ran down her skin until she wrapped a towel around her body, her features softening for the children that were crowding around her, leading her away from me.

I sighed, looking down at myself. I should have just left her alone. She was going to be just fine without me at this rate, and then I would definitely feel like a dick. I stayed in the water, waiting for my blood to cool down, waiting for my body to relax. Kagome may not be Kikyo, but she was definitely something all her own.

"What the hell am I going to do?'


	13. Chapter 13

**So I know I said I would keep these notes down to a minimum, and I definitely plan to, but I just feel like I need to explain a few things, mostly just to get my head set in the right direction and maybe clear anything up for anyone who could be confused**

 **Not that anyone's told me they are.**

 **You guys haven't told me much at all actually.**

 **So this is going to be a long author's note, but I'll do my best to write a super long chapter to pair it with.**

 **Anyway. In case you haven't noticed, but you probably have, I'm doing my best to keep with the story line villain wise. Kagome can't go back to her own time so she's stuck here. Instead of her always relying on the others I really want her to hold her own, hence the additional things she can do with that shared gift she has with Kikyo. But I don't want the growth to be too out of character for her, nor do I want to really change the characters as they are. I'm really trying I swear. Sooo there's not going to be a sacred jewel that can immensely increase demonic power or grant wishes. Their main quest is going to be to find Kikyo, with some added things in there too (I don't want to spoil the plot just yet) but I will let you know I'll be moving some episodes around, mostly the ones having to deal with Kikyo in the beginning and changing motivations from trying to find the Jewel. It's gonna be tough trying to keep the story the same and yet… not? I guess. I'm really sorry that I'm so bad at explaining.**

 **Last thing. Please please** _ **please**_ **, review, message me, anything! I like hearing feedback. I like hearing what you hate about the story, what you absolutely adore, things you wanna see, things I could leave out. I just need to know.**

 **K, now on to the main event!**

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

Kagome was quiet next to me, her eyes clouded as she stared at the fire. We left the settlement three days ago and she barely spoke to me, except for to ask about our surroundings and the settlements nearby. Suddenly the fire jumped, creating creatures of blue deep in the flames, two of them to be exact. They were vaguely human shaped as they bowed to each other and began dancing.

She's been doing this for days, every night putting on a different play in the fire to stretch that ability she's been forcing to grow. I could see how effortless this part was for her, but soon it would begin straining her concentration and she would faint.

Whenever I fret over her she gets upset, telling me not to worry about it. She was doing this for me. The faster she could get a grip on it the better she would get, the easier finding Kikyo would be.

I sighed as the figures danced, spinning and jumping. For a moment they jumped outside of the campfire only to twirl downward in a graceful motion. It's too bad Kikyo and Kagome couldn't conjure the elements, just bend them to their will when necessary. The two figures completed their dance, kissing as they returned to mere embers. I looked back over at Kagome. A sheen of sweat was visible on her skin, but she was still very much awake, a small smile playing at the edges of her lips.

"You're definitely getting better," I said, trying to compliment her. I didn't want it to be so awkward between us.

"Yeah, I'm getting there slowly." She gave me a real smile this time, one that lit up her face.

A low chuckled could be heard from behind me and I spun around to find a shadow at the edge of our small camp. I jumped in front of Kagome, very aware of the glare she was probably shooting to my back. I know she wants to hold her own but she would be no help in this fight.

If the sound of the voice didn't give our shadow away his scent definitely did. As he stepped forward I let out one low, hopefully menacing, growl.

"Sesshomaru."

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

I was only slightly annoyed that Inuyasha was standing in my way. From the tension in his shoulders and the growl that escaped his throat I could only assume he knew this person.

And that definitely meant I was in trouble.

I may only be useful as a backup at my current skill level, but because of all the power I just exerted with the flames I was practically useless if a fight broke out. Regardless, my hand wrapped around my bow and I readied an arrow.

"Now little brother, is that any way to treat me?" There was a laugh in the deep, smooth voice that erupted from the other side of Inuyasha. I just wish I could see.

"Last time we met it didn't exactly end well," Inuyasha spat, his hand reaching for his sword. I edged around him, trying to get a view of the man in the shadows. I could just barely peak around Inuyasha when the man stepped forward into the light.

He was beautiful. Gold eyes bore into Inuyasha in a serious yet, non-caring expression. His silver hair was pin straight and fell past his back, and on his face were dark purple stripes. At first I thought they were bruises but they were too uniform and symmetrical. Sesshomaru's eyes shifted from Inuyasha to me, causing me to flinch. His face may have been a mask of uncaring, but his eyes were cold and piercing like daggers, despite their warm color.

"Ah, Inuyasha's little pet human." His glare was giving me the creeps.

"Leave her out of this," Inuyasha growled, trying to steal the attention back from me. A rustling in the bush behind Sesshomaru momentarily caught my attention as a very short, green, leathery looking thing walked out, wearing brown priest's clothing and carrying a staff with two heads.

"It seems the staff brought us to Inuyasha instead of the creature that caused the damage to your body," the creature spoke.

"The staff did not lie, you were just not specific in your request, Jaken." Sesshomaru turned his cold gaze to the imp-like creature. For a moment I felt bad for him, and then I just felt confused.

"What are you going on about this time Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha growled again, his hand never leaving his sword.

"Thanks to our fight over Tetsusaiga I lost my left arm. I've been tracking down a demon who attempted to kill me in my sleep the other night, thinking that I would be an easy target with only one arm. He is mistaken," Sesshomaru didn't even look at Inuyasha as he spoke in very concise sentences. He relieved some of my confusion while adding new questions to the list.

Was Tetsusaiga Inuyasha's sword?

How exactly did Sesshomaru lose his arm to Inuyasha?

Why would they fight over a sword?

I sat quietly as the two brothers continued standing near each other awkwardly, while not saying anything. The tension in the air was palpable, Inuyasha's brash personality not really helping.

"I don't really have time to waste with our normal competitions today Inuyasha, maybe next time we'll see if you're really worthy of that blade. For now I am hunting something much more important than you," Sesshomaru simply turned and left, leaving the imp Jaken confused.

"You're the one that barged in my camp!" Inuyasha yelled after him, obviously annoyed and… nervous? Was he scared of his older brother? After a few moments we both turned to look at Jaken, who was frozen and confused. "Well are you going to go or do I get to pummel you?" Inuyasha growled. The poor Imp ran haphazardly away, smacking into a tree before righting himself and screaming to Sesshomaru.

"What… just happened?" I asked, setting my bow down, forcing my body to relax. That Sesshomaru really set my nerves on edge.

"I'm not exactly sure, though it seems like my brother's just as self centered as usual," Inuyasha grumbled, sitting down with his legs crossed.

"Tell me… about what happened between you and your brother," I was unsure whether or not I should even ask, but I might as well learn a little about this demon while I'm with him.

"There's not a lot to tell. He's always hated me. I guess my father was unfaithful to his mother or something. All I know is that his voice makes my blood boil and we can't ever get along." He shrugged.

"What happened with Tetsusaiga?" I asked, tilting my head as I studied him in the light of the fire. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha looked very similar, but Inuyasha was definitely the more attractive one. His tan skin set off his bright eyes and light hair very well.

Mentally I scolded myself for thinking about this while Inuyasha looked off into the distance, his eyes clouded in thought.

"Well, my father left me this sword… and… it's a really long story," he sighed, finally looking at me.

"I'm listening," I said quietly.

"Four years ago Kikyo and I were traveling together when my brother showed up out of nowhere and pulled this… black pearl out of my eye. Apparently our father placed it there when I was an infant. It was a portal to the other world, where the dead are left to rot to bone. It lead us to his grave. Sesshomaru kept getting shocked whenever he tried pulling the sword out, while I just couldn't get it to budge. We had one of our normal fights about dad. About what dad expected form us really. Why leave me a weapon I can't even pull out of the stupid stone? So Kikyo walks around us, calm as always, and pulls it out easily. It looks like an old rusted piece of junk in her hand so I'm confused as to why my father left it to me," Inuyasha stopped, rubbing the back of his head. His golden eyes meet mine and I simply nodded, waiting for him to continue. "Out of anger Sesshomaru transformed into his dog form…"

"Your brother has a dog form?" I stopped him, confused.

"You'll soon learn that a lot of people aren't what they seem, even some animals. The radiation did something to our DNA, and it's just continued spiraling out of hand. In your time were there people that could control fire or water like you do? Did swords transform when someone meets the right conditions?"

"No, everything was… boring." I finally said, grasping for a word that could fill the space. Boring wasn't quite what I was looking for, but it worked for now.

"Then it shouldn't be too difficult to imagine Sesshomaru as a giant white dog with poisonous breath and glowing eyes."

"It is a little, I mean, he's too attractive to look like a dog," I said, trying to imagine it. Inuyasha growled at my comment, but I ignored him. "Does that mean you can transform too?" I asked, curiosity spiking.

"No, I'm what a lot of people like to call a 'half demon.' I'm not as strong as some of the other demons, but I'm still not quite close to a normie. In fact a lot of demons can look normal on the surface but there's something inside of them…" Inuyasha's voice was soft and sad for a moment.

"I'm sorry." I said finally, taking in his expression. He looked so lonely.

"Anyway, back to my fight with Sesshomaru," Inuyasha forced a cough, clearing his throat. "When Sesshomaru threatened to kill Kikyo something in me began beating to the same rhythm as the sword… I can't really describe it. It only works when I'm using it to protect humans, people who can't protect themselves, or if I'm in a life threatening situation. I don't know how the sword knows but it does. Well once the sword transformed into this huge fang I kind of… cut my brothers arm off." He mumbled the last part, but I could still hear it.

"Inuyasha!" I exclaimed.

"Listen I know it sounds absolutely terrible, but I was defending the woman I lo-" his stopped mid-word, as if thinking better of it. It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out what he was going to say. I wasn't even sure why he stopped. "I was defending Kikyo." I simply nodded, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

"Well I can see why he doesn't like you now but…"

"Let's not talk about Sesshomaru," Inuyasha said, looking like his normal, crabby self. Any pity I had for him was instantly dashed. "He's stupid anyway."

"You're jealous of your brother, aren't you?" I asked, trying to poke a button.

"Who asked you anyway!" he called over the campfire.

"Whatever," I huffed and turned away from him, getting my sleeping bag together so that I could get to sleep. Or at least pretend. I may have been curious at first, but now I was just scared. There are people that can turn into giant dogs and I still can't defend myself against someone like Yura.

Just thinking about the girl caused my blood to freeze. Inuyasha promised me that when she turned to dust that was the end of her, but I couldn't shake this feeling that worse things were going to come.

I wasn't sure if I was ready to face them when they did.


	14. Chapter 14

**Kagome**

* * *

When I opened my eyes they were acting up, causing blurs of surreal color to bounce around in the air. It's been two days since Sesshomaru walked in and out of the camp and Inuyasha has been moping more than usual, snapping at anything he can. I'm pretty sure he came close to getting into an actual fist fight when a peddler at a nearby town decided the price he had displayed wasn't enough. I had simply groaned and walked away, leaving him to deal with the pent up testosterone left over from not getting to fight his brother. From the way Inuyasha described their relationship it sounds like that's all they do.

I sat up and yawned, ignoring the flying colors to survey my surroundings. It was unsettling waking up in a different camp every day and my back was beginning to ache from laying on the hard ground.

None of it seemed to bother Inuyasha though.

"Took you long enough to wake up," Inuyasha grumbled, opening his left eye to peer at me. I took a deep breath, doing my best not to explode on him when a white blur passed by my vision. Without warning a monkey jumped out of the underbrush, nose sniffing the air looking for something in particular. I was amazed that any of the woodland monkeys even survived when it padded closer to me, its eyes wide in wonder.

I was about to reach out to it when it snatched my bag full of provisions and ran back into the underbrush, leaving my hand dangling in the air. Inuyasha laughed as a response until I turned my gaze towards him, eyes shooting daggers into his skin.

"That bag has all our food in it," I ground out the words, doing my best not to lose it. Inuyasha groaned before standing. He sniffed the air once and was off chasing the monkey through the surrounding woods, screaming for it to 'bring back all of the damn food.' I sighed, taking my time getting up and rolling my sleeping bag up. Once the overstuffed blanket was in its drawstring bag I kicked dirt in the fire and began following after the trail of broken limbs and crushed plants Inuyasha left in his wake.

Today was going to be full of a little too much excitement in my opinion.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

Kagome didn't catch up until I had the monkey cornered, its body trembling as I stood over it. If it wasn't for the man that called for the stupid animal I would have had our food back. Why did that stupid girl let it take her bag anyway?

A rustling of leaves altered me to Kagome's emergence from the trees, a questioning look on her face. I just sighed and pointed at the man that was going through our bag. She shook her head and marched forward, her fists clenched at her sides as she did so.

"Excuse me!" She yelled, grabbing the man's attention. He was sitting under a shady tree at the top of the hill. The dumb monkey led us to the outskirts of another village, though this one was a bit quieter than the last one we visited. "That's our food you're digging through." Kagome eyed the man as she got closer. I just stayed where it was safe.

That girl can have quite the temper.

"Oh I'm sorry. I sent him out to forage for food, I was wondering why he brought an entire bag back." The man said apologetically. "I'm Nobunaga," nervously he ran his hand through is hair, offering Kagome her bag back.

"Any relation to Oda Nobunaga?" She asked, sitting next to him.

Sitting next to him… what the hell did she think she was doing? It's not like we're on some sort of vacation. She said we would be looking for Kikyo! I mumbled obscenities under my breath as I approached her, getting ready to tell her we needed to go. I already wasted time by letting her sleep through part of the morning, now she was flirting with some guy whose monkey stole our food.

"He's a distant relative I believe, far back in the family tree."

"Wow," Kagome exclaimed, her eyes sparkling as they talked. I froze in my tracks, admiring her smile and the way she covered her mouth with a lightly clenched fist when she laughed. She really was beautiful.

"Well anyway, I need to be going, I have a very important mission I need to complete."

"Maybe we can help," Kagome's soft voice said as she stood, dusting grass off of her short skirt.

Wait what?

"I'm sure it will be no trouble at all," Kagome smiled as the guy blushed.

So here I am, following these idiots through an almost dead town, trying really hard not to stare at the way Kagome's legs moved, or the way her body was shaped.

This is troublesome.

I decided to sit in a shaded alley since Kagome and this 'Nobunaga' guy were walking around town trying to collect information for this important 'mission.' He probably just wanted to get into Kagome's skirt and was searching for a place to do the dead.

I clenched my fist at the thought, my blood running hot. How dare he think he have a chance with Kagome.

'You don't even have a chance with Kagome' a voice cooed in my head. It was soft and low, reminding me of Kikyo. I sighed, letting the anger go. It's been so long since I've heard her voice that I've almost forgotten what it sounds like.

I laid my head against the building behind me, closing my eyes, trying to call up and image of her. She had warm brown eyes and silky black hair, with just the right amount of curves. Her legs were muscular yet not too tanned and her voice was soothing as she called to me.

"Inuyasha!" Her voice called, smooth like cream. "Inuyasha wake up, we found some information from the villagers," Her voice said. I opened my eyes, her face framed with sunlight, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "They think the lord of the castle is possessed by a demon."  
Kagome stood in front of me, causing my heart to stop for just a second. Her warm brown eyes worried because of my silence. She brushed a silky strand of black hair behind her ear as she stood up straight, talking to the 'Nobunaga' guy. She shifted her weight, causing one of her toned legs to relax and bend at the knee.

I may have been trying to call up an image of Kikyo but Kagome was the only thing filling my mind.

I didn't know whether to be angry or sad.

"How does a demon possess someone anyway?" Kagome's voice asked in the direction of the other man.

"Well some few demons have that sort of power. It all depends on the person," I answered her question, wanting her attention back on me. She looked at me for a second and then nodded.

"They say the lord of the castle has been summoning girls to the castle for weeks now. No one that's entered has been seen leaving."

"That sure is something," I said, turning my head away from her, aggravated with myself. Why did I want this girl's attention so badly?

"Let's get going," was all she said before turning on her heel and marching in the direction of what I'm assuming was the castle. I groaned before standing up, wanting this to be over with as soon as possible.


	15. Chapter 15

**Kagome**

* * *

Inuyasha complained the entire walk to the castle, his hands folded into his Kimono. I did my best to ignore him as I talked to Nobunaga about his mission. He spoke with admiration and conviction when he spoke of saving 'Princess Tsuyu.' I admired the way he spoke of her, describing her like one would the love of their live.

Much like Inuyasha would describe Kikyo.

I sighed as we walked, pushing the thought from my mind. I was on this trip so that I could help him find her. Though I guess I was taking a side trip to see if I could get a better grasp of my powers in a high-stress situation. Inuyasha just followed along because… well I wasn't sure. We would probably need him for this, but I wanted to do this on my own. I turned to look at Inuyasha, a part of me wanted to tell him to get lost, but my gut clenched at the thought. I sighed again and continued forward as the castle came into focus.

"I see Japan has fallen back into its Feudal Era," I commented, looking at the restored castle. It probably use to be a museum or maybe someone's fancy house, but it definitely looked like a castle, complete with guards littering the steps and battlements and the feeling of 'I'm super rich please attack me'. I was a little freaked that none of the guards were moving but Inuyasha stopped for a moment, perking his ears to listen.

"They're not dead," he finally decided. That sure was a relief. I studied the castle, looking at all of the stairs I was gonna have to climb to get up there. Inuyasha sighed before walking around me and crouching down, his face turning red as he sat there in what looked like a very uncomfortable position.

"Well are you going to get on or what?" His voice was harsh. I nodded.

"Kay," was all I could manage as I climbed onto his back, using my thighs to keep myself upward as I wrapped my arms around his neck. Nobunaga wasted no time climbing on with me, hooking his leg with mine.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Inuyasha asked, looking over his shoulder.

"We're only here because I have business in the castle. Now let's get a move on!" Nobunaga was bold in his declaration, but he shrunk back once the words were out of his mouth. I groaned internally while shaking my head.

"Let's just go. The sooner we get done here the sooner we can get back on track." Inuyasha began running, his powerful legs carrying us further and faster than mine would ever be able to… Unless the radiation began messing with my physical strength as well.

Only time would tell.

"You know, you're the reason we're off track in the first place, right?" Inuyasha groaned as he began jumping from the ground to the landing in the middle of the steps.

"Well would it kill you to help people out every once in a while?" I asked, preparing myself for his next jump. The motion was almost completely fluid… but Inuyasha found a way to make it uncomfortable.

"I tried that once and now I'm stuck with you," His voice was harsh. The second he landed at the top of the stairs I climbed off of him.

"The sooner this gets done the sooner you can be rid of me," I huffed as I entered the castle. There wasn't a single sound except for the door sliding open.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

I don't know why I keep trying to hurt Kagome with my words.

Maybe I just don't want to get close to her and lose everything I remember about Kikyo since the girl was beginning to take over my mind. Or maybe I just didn't want to get hurt if something happened to her.

'Then make sure nothing happens to her.' A voice in my head offered.

"Easier said than done," I muttered to myself, gaining a pointed look from Kagome. This castle was completely dead, figuratively speaking. All of the occupants were asleep.

And it reeked of slime and demonic activity.

I tried not to think about it as I followed behind Kagome, Nobunga and the little white monkey. The entire place felt off. Nobunaga began yelling out Tsuyu's name, checking every door we passed. His voice was starting to grate on my nerves.

"Is it alright to let him be this loud?" She asked. They were the first words directed at me since my rude comment and they were about him. Figures.

"I don't see why not, they're all sleeping anyway." I groaned, keeping my eyes forward. If he would have brought something that belonged to the girl I would have been able to tell him if she was even here.

"Don't you find it strange that everyone is asleep," Kagome whispered, bumping into me.

"Probably some sort of sleeping curse or something," I mumbled, enjoying the heat from her body before it was gone.

But she didn't pull away from me. Instead her brown eyes were busy scanning the hall we were walking down, her lips set in a hard line. Oh those lips.

"Did you see that?" she whined, pushing harder against me. "I thought I saw something move." I was quiet as she had her mini freak out. It was just the stupid monkey. It held a lantern in its hand, holding it out for Kagome to take it.

Nobunaga began making a fuss as he walked into a room, crying that his beautiful princess had aged exponentially since the last time he had seen her. Kagome and I stopped in the doorway, watching him pick up an old woman's head as he began confessing his feelings and regrets for not making it sooner.

"Uh, Nobunaga, isn't that the princess over there?" Kagome pointed at a girl wearing expensive silks. Nobunaga's head turned and he dropped the old woman as he began careening over the princess' sleeping form. Kagome walked into the room without a word and set her light source down on the table next to the princess. She knelt slowly, the muscles in her legs tensing and contracting as she got comfortable.

Then she placed her hands, hovering just about the silk robe, over the princess' heart.

I've seen Kikyo do this a million times. But Kaede had drilled it into her after hours and hours of practice. Kagome had no form, all her concentration scrunched up in her face. She took a deep breath and something beautiful happened….

Pale green light ebbed from Kagome's hands into the princess, drawing the toxins out of the girl's body. A light sheen of sweat was visible on Kagome's face but she didn't look exhausted. She hadn't pushed herself. She stood effortlessly as the princess began to stir, causing Nobunaga to become excited and flustered.

That probably wasn't a good combination for the poor boy.

Kagome and Nobunaga listened intently to the girl's explanation. The only thing I heard was the word demon.

It was true most demon's just wanted to be left alone, to live in peace and quiet like the rest of the normies, but we didn't always get that chance. Especially a half-breed like me. I could never really find a place to situate myself.

Somehow I was less than the dirt everyone else walked on.

Kagome's warm eyes met mine and she smiled. "So do you think he's in love," her words threw me for a loop since I didn't know who she was talking about. One look at Nobunaga dotting on the princess supplied me with the information I was lacking on and I nodded. "Love is such a wonderful thing," Kagome looked down at her hands. I wanted to grab them and take that lonely look off her face but I didn't know how.

"So all we have to do is get the demon out of the lord and everything should go back the way it was!" Nobunaga looked sad. I guess he wasn't going to get the girl this time. Kagome left the room without warning, so when I turned to tell her something I opened my mouth to find the little white monkey in her stead.

How troublesome.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

I just needed some air. After Nobunaga practically confessed his feelings in the sloppiest way ever the princess practically ignored them in favor of explaining the situation. The prince was possessed, and she wanted us to find a way to return her love to normal without damaging him too much.

What a puzzle this was going to be.

I walked down the halls, getting use to the silence.

That's why the noise alerted me as the door to my right slid open and a lumbering shadow stepped out, wrapped in bandages.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing awake?" it croaked, causing me to squeal.

Inuyasha came running down the hall practically screaming my name.

"Nuisance! You're interfering with my time with this beauty!" the bandaged mass croaked again, opening its mouth. A spray of something that smelled incredibly toxic released from the mouth of the 'prince' coating Inuyasha. The patches of skin that were hit made an unsettling searing noise while his clothes remained, for the most part, unaffected. They were probably going to smell terrible until he washed them though.

Absently I wondered what it was that the kimono was made out of. I seriously needed to get me one of those.

The prince grabbed my arm and I freaked, swatting it away and smacking his face in the process, loosening the bandages.

They fell away to reveal the face of a frog.

This time I screamed.

"Oh god gross get it away!" I backed into the nearest wall, wishing I had my bow with me. Why did I leave it in the room with the princess?


	16. Chapter 16

**Inuyasha**

* * *

Kagome's cry alerted me to her location easier than her smell did. She took the candle with her, giving off a dim orange glow at the end of one of the long hallways. Nobunaga and princess 'whatever-her-name-is' followed after me, one concerned for Kagome and the other concerned for the prince.

When I finally reached Kagome she was backed against a wall, her eyes as wide as her face. Leering over her was a disgusting smelling, slimly looking amphibian demon. His hands reaching out to grab her. I drew my sword when the princess' hand grabbed mine. My eyes jumped to her face. She was scared and concerned, but not for Kagome. Right now I needed her out of my way.

I growled and she whimpered but stood her ground, her hand still covering my own. "My prince is still in there, I know it!" she cried out. I sighed, looking at the tears in her eyes. I pushed her hand off of mine and instead of drawing my sword I pulled the sheath out as well, holding it awkwardly with both hands so the Tetsusaiga didn't fly out and impale anyone. Not that the dull blade could do something like that unless it was fully transformed. The princess backed against the wall as the amphibian demon turned towards me, its sticky hands on Kagome's shoulders.

So much for her fighting.

"Listen here you overgrown frog, get your hands off of Kagome and I won't have to kill you"

"Hah!" the frog turned, pulling Kagome with it. My eyes set on hers for a moment, wondering if she was scared, if she would finally realize she couldn't take care of herself out here. That she should just go home.

But there was fire in her eyes as her face was pondering, gears turning deep in her head as if trying to pull out information that was just beyond her grasp.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

What had I learned about frogs in science class?

The initial start of seeing the prince had caused me to make a huge mistake. Now everyone was crowded in the hallway and if I didn't think fast Inuyasha was probably going to kill the prince. Amphibians are mostly cold blooded, dwelling in mostly wet places.

Heat. The idea popped into my brain as I looked down at the fire in my hand. They were weak against heat. Too much of the stuff and it would dry out their skin! I pulled out of the demon's hand, turning on him. Focusing on the heat of the fire and not on the actual flame itself I sent it forward in a spray, rippling across the demon's body as Inuyasha's sheath came down on top of the prince's head. There was a silent moment as no one moved…

And then like magic the demon was thrown from the prince's body, scrambling down the hallways to escape. Unluckily for it, Inuyasha was right on its trail, drawing his sword and swinging it around violently until it finally met its target.

"Is he always that brash?" The princess asked, her eyes never leaving Inuyasha as he cheered over his kill.

"Basically," I answered with a sigh. The prince moaned, taking all of Princess Tsuyu's attention and Nobunaga was left to stand alone with his white haired monkey.

"I can never thank you enough!" the princess cried towards me as she hugged her dear prince. He wasn't very attractive and kind of looked like a malformed potato in my opinion, but if he made her happy that's all that matters.

"You deserve payment befitting your assistance!" The prince finally said, standing upright. "A feast will be held in your honor!" I smiled, just the thought of a well cooked meal and even a soft bed making my mouth want to water. One look at Inuyasha sobered my thoughts however. He was on a mission to find Kikyo, the woman he loved more than anything. Any more delays and we would be way behind in our search, even though we had no idea where we were supposed to be looking in the first place.

"Thank you, but your gratitude is all I really need," I smiled at him.

"At least take some silks and treasures as an offering of thanks." This time when I looked at Inuyasha he nodded, just a small bit.

* * *

After less than an hour of the prince sifting through his treasure room he came back with a beautiful green Kimono and a bag full of glittering gems as payment for restoring him to normal and waking his castle of the sleeping curse. Inuyasha counted the gems as I tried on the Kimono. It was a bit long, coming well passed my ankles and the sleeves were a bit more than I was use to but at least it would give me more protection than my school uniform did. The fabric was smooth, yet durable, with small cherry blossom petals dancing across the waist and turning the green to a pale pink at the bottom. Red fabric wrapped around my waist holding it shut as the princess' handmaidens fussed over my hair. I told them it wasn't a big deal, seeing as it would probably just get messed up in my travels, but they ignored me, insisting that I should at least wear it up once. I stuffed my old clothes in my bag and thanked the girls before leaving, not wanting to look at my hair.

Back In my own time I would spend hours on my hair, trying to get it just right so that I could steal Hojo's attention. I didn't want to be reminded of the girl I couldn't be anymore.

When I stepped out of the room the girls had been preparing me in I walked right passed Inuyasha, expecting him to follow me. I got two doors down before turning around, realizing he was staring. I wondered, halfheartedly, if he was actually looking at me this time, instead of what Kikyo might look like in this outfit. My chest tightened and I sighed. Why do I get my hopes up like this?

"Are you coming or not?" I called behind me, not chancing another glance. Not letting my eyes witness the way he was devouring me with his gaze, the way his hand twitched as if to reach towards me, the desperate look in his eyes that screamed something his mouth couldn't quite form.

I didn't see any of that as I continued walking, content in knowing that his eyes had been on me. Even for just a second.


	17. Chapter 17

**Inuyasha**

* * *

She looked like a different person with her hair in an intricate bun on the top of her hair. Her face glowing in the firelight as she continued her dance of flames, making them go longer than usual, making them burn brighter, in any way to flex the muscle more before she figured out something else she could add.

After the other night when Sesshomaru showed up she no longer exhausted her abilities until she couldn't so much as twitch. She kept just a little extra, just enough to shoot off an arrow or two.

She was still wearing the Kimono two days after we left the castle, saying a warm farewell to Nobunaga. It looked good on her, showing off the curves of her body while protecting her more than those odd clothes she liked to wear so much. It was made of a durable fabric that when stretched resisted well. It wasn't going to tear easily.

She was smiling while looking down at her hands, her eyes a little distant as she rubbed on the collar she picked up from her house. She had taken to holding little mementos from her past life late at night, small tears forming in the corners of her eyes, never really spilling over. She looked soft and peaceful.

I wanted to pull her in my arms and comfort her when her tears looked like they were going to become too much, but they never did. And she never sought out my shoulder to cry on. There was a distance between us that I wanted so badly to close, something that I had probably caused.

All because I was still hung up over a girl whose face kept disappearing in my mind. I sighed, settling in for the night.

A rustling sound in the brush nearby caused me to jump up, ready to attack. A statue was sitting at the edge of our camp where I was very sure one hadn't been before. Kagome stood too, notching an arrow in her bow and pointing it at the statue, her eyes steady.

"Come out now or I'll shoot," Her voice was even and demanding, causing the statue to shudder. With a loud popping noise and a bit of smoke a terrified looking squirrel thing stood shaking on his two legs, green eyes wide and watering as if to cry.

"I just wanted some food. My dad's been gone for a long time and I haven't had anything to eat in a while." It whimpered. I growled.

"Oh calm down Inuyasha," Kagome placed the arrow back in the quiver and began rummaging through our bag to find something for the small demon. I huffed and crossed my arms.

"How are we supposed to keep our supplies if you keep feeding everyone?" I kept my eyes shut, my face pointed away. But my ears were trained on the little creature as it moved closer.

"Oh shut up," Kagome groaned as she shifted closer to the small demon. I could hear it shake as she held out her hand. I opened one eye, studying Kagome as her face softened. Tentatively she knelt down, a small smile playing on her lips.

"I'm not going to hurt you," her soft voice whispered. The demon swallowed and then nodded, taking the food from Kagome's hand.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

"So little guy, what's your name?" I kept my voice soft and my movements slow. The demon was interesting to look at with big green eyes and a fluffy tail. It was wearing rags for clothing and it looked like it could use a bath. Though I guess most of the water out here isn't really good for bathing, or drinking. I shivered, thinking about living out here with radiated water and nothing but the woods for protection.

Inuyasha was glaring at the little demon, his gold eyes like fire.

"It's Shippo," the demon finally said through a mouthful of bread. I handed him a bottle of water and waited, patiently, for him to finish eating. Looking at him now it was obvious he hadn't eaten in a while. His torn clothing was loose on his small frame, and his bones and veins prominent in his arms. The poor thing.

"Do you know where your dad went Shippo?" I asked, tilting my head allowing my bangs to fall in front of my eyes.

"There were these demons hunting on our land," Shippo's bright green eyes grew dark as he looked at the camp fire. "They call themselves the Thunder brothers. They're pretty powerful."

"Do you know where their lair is?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the small child. He couldn't be older than twelve. He was very small, a lot like a small breed dog, but that could have been because of the type of demon he was.

"No way." Inuyasha's voice interrupted my assessment of the child. I turned my head to look at him slowly, intent on listening to his temper tantrum, then completely disregarding his reasons. If I could help people on this quest to find Kikyo there was no way Inuyasha was going to stop me.

"Why not?" my voice stayed even as his temper was flaring.

"We are not a charity service! This kid should just go lodge a complaint with one of the nearby towns and maybe some hunter or something can look into it. We're-"

"I'm going to help him, with or without your assistance." Our eyes met as the kid sat still, almost not breathing.

"Like hell you are," he growled, stepping forward. I stood slowly, my eyes never leaving his. I could feel the air around me electrify, the fire crackling a little louder. '

"Try and stop me," my voice was low. I know I'm not a menacing, scary person. That didn't stop me from trying to play the card. I looked over at Shippo for a single second before making the decision. I scooped up our bag, along with my weapon, and picked the kid up. Inuyasha stood motionless. I thought quietly for a moment about Inuyasha not being able to follow us. About him being trapped, even if it was for a few moments. Just enough to give us a head start. I felt something around me react to the thoughts, to the emotions swirling inside of me.

When Inuyasha finally did begin to move I heard an electrifying noise as he yelped. I didn't turn to look behind me.

"You're scary," Shippo finally said once we made it out of the forest and onto a dusty road.

"No, I just don't like being pushed around," my voice was gentle again as I looked down at the little kid. "So, where are these Thunder Brothers?" I asked.

"That way," the small demon pointed. I nodded and began walking, adjusting my bag on my hip so that it would sit more comfortably.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

I stood frozen looking at the barrier Kagome had erected. It was slowly fading, but there was enough magic left in it to keep me trapped in the camp. Little snaps of electricity hit every so often, reminding me of the jolt that had run through my body when I tried to follow her.

* * *

"This girl is a nuisance," I growled, my eyes narrowing at the barrier. The further away she got the weaker it became until it finally dissipated completely. I stood there a moment longer, weighing my options. I could stay here and wait for them to get back, though with that girl's sense of direction she would probably get lost, if she survived. I could continue forward with my search for Kikyo. It's been three years though and her trail has run cold.

I could follow them and keep Kagome safe.

My chest felt tight at the thought of her not returning to me. To lose her at the hands of some halfwit demon. I growled again as I began following Kagome's scent. They had covered a lot of ground, which was a little surprising to me. The moon was high in the sky meaning any sort of demon could be following her and she wouldn't even know it was there. I began running, fear momentarily taking root in my brain. What if she got hurt and I couldn't get her to a healer in time. What if she got kidnapped?

What if she got killed?

I swallowed the bundle of nerves in my throat and pushed forward.

When I broke out of the forest I could see her shadow walking down the road, her lilting voice carried to my ears by the wind. She was just talking to that little brat, her voice light and bouncy as she laughed. It was a pleasing sound, one she made rarely around me.

Did she hate me?

Why would she help me find Kikyo if she hated me?

I stood very still for a moment, watching her move under the moonlight. For a moment I considered taking her back to Kaede's village and telling her about how I felt. About the way she was quickly taking over my thoughts, making it difficult to even imagine the face of the woman I once loved so much.

But I simply shook my head. If anything I didn't deserve Kagome. I began walking behind them, my thoughts clouded over by thoughts of Kikyo, and how I had never really told her how much she meant to me. Sure, we were a thing, a really great thing. I would protect her as she traveled, helping people along the way. We had grown up together and I watched as her powers grew into something beautiful and dangerous. She couldn't stay at the village for fear of her people's safety. She was kind and gentle, but always distant and cold when we were alone, much like how Kagome is now.

But Kagome has a life to her that Kikyo never showed. Even with Kaede Kikyo was calm and serene, while Kagome would show a wide range of emotions.

Kikyo tears were always silent, she was always somewhere else when her eyes would look at me.

"If you're trying to convince me to go back to the camp I'm not going," Kagome's voice demanded my attention as I stepped closer to her. I looked up to see a fire set in her eyes, making them vibrant. I sighed giving in.

"Whatever. I'm just here to make sure you idiots don't get killed. I need you alive to find Kikyo." I forced a huff. A smile played on Kagome's face and she nodded.

"The Thunder Brothers shouldn't be far now. We're nearing Shippo's hunting grounds."

"That fleabag wouldn't know the first thing about hunting if it bit him in the ass," I said, taking the lead.

"What's that?" the kid yelled from Kagome's shoulder.

"I mean look at you, you're nothing but skin and bone. If it wasn't for Kagome you'd probably die out here."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome's voice yelled as I kept walking.

"You owe her your life," I called over my shoulder. I might not make her laugh and smile but the kid does. And by the scent of blood soaked earth up ahead I had the feeling we weren't going to be finding Shippo's father alive.


	18. Chapter 18

**Kagome**

* * *

The stench of copper was enough to make me light headed. I held Shippo close to my body as I could feel him shake. Blood was everywhere, soaking the ground and splattered across the trunks of trees and over leaves and dripping down to the ground. Most of it was dry, but some looked sticky and slick, not fresh but with the concentration in one place it hadn't had enough time to dry. Inuyasha scanned the area, using his superior nose to decide who, or what, the blood belonged to.

The image was permeating my brain.

I was going to have nightmares about this for weeks. I almost felt like throwing up.

Shippo's small voice almost didn't reach me as he whispered, "It smells like papa." I pulled him tighter against me, his small body shaking violently.

"Don't worry kid, we're going to make whoever did this pay," Inuyasha's words were strong and sure, causing Shippo to nod before he calmed a bit. I was stupid to think I would have been able to do this by myself. I could barely stomach the scene in front of me. I swallowed down bile as I turned away, not able to look any longer. There were tufts of fur drenched in that blood, but no body.

Why would they take the body?

From what I understand of the social system here there are only 'cops' in towns and villages, used to keep order among large groups of people. But once you're out here all bets are off. It's kill or be killed.

I didn't belong out here. I'm too delicate, too easy to hurt. Even with my newly strengthened power I wouldn't be able to protect myself if it wasn't for Inuyasha's help. The need to get stronger motivated me to keep moving as Inuyasha said something about following him, but I wouldn't be able to gain enough strength to keep myself alive without someone's help. No matter how hard I train I was going to end up as a pile of blood at some point.

Especially if Centipede is still after me.

I shuddered and Shippo began patting me on the back, his small voice whispering to me. _Everything's going to be okay. Nothing's going to hurt me._ I looked up at Inuyasha's back. He moved with purpose. I wish I could be more like him.

I sighed, letting my self-pitying thoughts take over was going to get me nowhere. I looked down at Shippo, His bright green eyes studying my face. He was now without a father, but he was worried about _me_.

"Where's your mom at Shippo?' I finally asked, trying to keep my thoughts away from the blood and my own weaknesses.

"Papa said she died a long time ago, right after I was born. She got sick when she had her litter, I was the only one that made it," Shippo should have sounded sadder than he did. "Papa loved her a lot, and said that as long as one of her babies made it than her life was worth the sacrifice."

"Your mother was very brave," I finally said. "And so full of love."

"Kagome," Shippo's voice sounded uncertain, his eyes searching mine for an answer. "What is your mom like?"

"Oh," I froze for a second, Inuyasha turned around, his eyes on Shippo, then me. "She died a long time ago, but she was a very kind woman. She always made me breakfast and made sure I got up in time for school," I fought back the tears that were threatening to overflow. "She took very good care of me." I managed to keep my voice steady even thought I felt like choking on the sadness that threatened to take over me. Mom was gone.

I was going to have to find a way to move passed it. She had always been a strong woman, capable of anything she set her mind to. She raised Sota and me without worrying about my good-for-nothing-absentee-father.

"I think you'd make a good mama," Shippo finally said, his fingers playing with the fabric of my kimono. I smiled at him as Inuyasha seemed to relax in front of us. We began walking again, this time in silence. Shippo seemed worried, his eyes shifting around.

"I'll take good care of you Shippo," I whispered, jut loud enough for the small demon to hear.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

 _I'll take good care of you Shippo_. The words kept bouncing around inside of my head as I continued to track the scent of death. That fox demon's father was killed at least three days ago, though that wouldn't explain why some of the blood was still sticky or why Shippo was so thin. Maybe these Thunder Brothers play with their prey. I looked back at Kagome for a moment, not sure if I should voice my thoughts. It would probably be best to leave them alone while they're having their sweet little moment.

 _Bonding_ , my brain supplied. Kagome just met the little fur ball and she was already trying to mend his wounds. A low growl escaped my throat. Jealousy spiking through me.

 _Kagome is trying to find Kikyo so that your wounds can begin to mend_. My brain chided me. Maybe I didn't want Kikyo anymore.

I shook my head. Now was not the time to have dumb thoughts like this. I'm in the middle of enemy territory, I should focus on trying to pick up the trail.

"Inuyasha," Kagome's voice called. I stopped and turned around, looking at her.

"What?" I asked, my voice harder than it needed to be. She ignored it.

"Do you see that?" She pointed off into the distance where ominous clouds began rolling in, lightning sparking inside of it and lighting up two shadows.

"I do now," I muttered, studying the shadows in the clouds. Once was plump, the other looked thin, maybe even muscular. I couldn't tell form just shadows though. Lightning struck the ground directly beneath the shadows and two figures appeared.

One was pale, three tiny strands of hair atop the otherwise bald head. It was the larger one, greedy eyes studying Kagome with something akin to lust. I wanted to laugh. The other was well tanned with long black hair braided down his back.

Shippo growled and I followed his line of sight, landing on the fox pelt wrapped around the fat one's waist.

"What do you think you're doing in our lands?" The thin one asked, red eyes studying me intently.

"That's my father around your body!" Shippo yelled, his face pale.

"Oh, you mean the one that tried to stop us from hunting on our lands. Ha!" The fat one began laughing. "We made quick work of him!"

"You monsters!" Kagome yelled, her eyes lighting up with fire, her previous sadness gone, replaced by rage.

"Listen here toots," The thin one said, a smile forming on his lips. "Out here it's survival of the fittest, and he simply wasn't the fittest." Kagome drew an arrow, the fire in her eyes hot enough to melt steel. She notched it and pulled back, all in one fluid motion.

"You will pay for what you've done!" She yelled, loosening her hold on the arrow, allowing it to fly through the air. It was aimed directly at the more talkative brother and would have hit dead on if not for the fat one's interference. Instead it got stuck in the fat one's misshapen face causing it to yell out in pain.

"Well what did you expect to happen when you stepped in the way of an arrow?" I yelled as it whined about the pain.

"You're a gutsy girl," the one with the arrow sticking out of his face growled. "Perfect to be my wife."

"How the hell did you come to that conclusion?" I yelled at him.

"I'm one of the famous Thunder Brothers. We take whatever we want, and I want you!" he pointed at Kagome, who frowned.

"If you're so famous then why is this the first time I've ever heard anyone talk about you?" Kagome's question was simple and instantly killed all pride coming from the fat one.

"Don't worry Manten," The thin one said, spinning the spear in his hand. "I'll make sure you get to bring that girl home!"

"Thank you big brother Hiten!" Manten said, his weird face twisting up in a sad excuse for a smile.

"You're not taking her anywhere," I growled, pulling Tetsusaiga from its sheath. Kagome notched another arrow and nodded.

"This time, I won't miss!" She yelled out, aiming for Manten this time.

"Give us your best shot!"


	19. Chapter 19

**Kagome**

* * *

Once Hiten rushed towards Inuyasha lightning exploded all around us, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand up.

"Be careful Kagome!" Inuyasha's voice yelled. I nodded, focusing my attention on the deformed monstrosity in front of me.

"Come here pretty girl, I'll be sure to treat you better than that half breed mutt," his voice cooed at me, making my stomach roll.

"It doesn't matter how bad Inuyasha treats me, I'm never coming with you," I yelled at him focusing my aim on his ugly face. I'm not one to care much about looks, but when the inside is as ugly as the outside I have no issue with it. I could feel the static in the air around me change and I paled, moving out of the way just in time for lightning to come down on where I had been standing. Shippo moaned as I sat up, dusting dirt off my kimono. That had been a close call. I watched for just a moment the battle between Hiten and Inuyasha. Lightning was striking the battlefield around them wildly as Hiten laughed.

He mumbled something mostly incoherent due to the distance but it sounded something like 'unpredictable lightning strikes' and 'you better watch your girl'. I should have been paying attention to Manten because before I realized it large arms were pulling me upwards and forcing my hands behind my back.

"You'll make an excellent wife!" Manten laughed and I had to resist the urge to barf. The smell coming from the fox wrapped around his waist was putrid, telling me it had been dead for a number of days. Shippo was still on the ground, dizzy from getting knocked down. I was on my own with this one.

"As if," I tried escaping, my power weak as it always was this late at night. I wish there was a way for me to learn how to replenish it. I shouldn't have used that trick to keep Inuyasha stuck in the camp.

"Such beautiful hair. I will be sure to treasure it through all our years of marriage."

"Get off me you creep!" I yelled, gaining Inuyasha's attention. I looked at him horrified as Hiten slammed the blunt end of the staff down on his head, knocking him out.

"Let us go Manten. These idiots aren't worth our energy!" Hiten yelled, his red eyes on me.

"You are right brother!" Manten said a cloud forming at my feet. Without warning we were in the air, my screams not reaching Inuyasha's unconscious form.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

I awoke to sobs. And a pounding headache.

I groaned as I sat up, my head spinning. I was in a barren field with nothing in sight except for a sobbing ball of fur. I could feel the absence of something, but my brain wasn't sure what it was yet. I stayed still for a moment, my brain calming down.

"She's gone," Shippo's soft whines finally reached me, picking up in volume only slightly. "I just got a mom and now she's gone."

Kagome.

I stood up quickly, ignoring the way my head felt like it was going to fly away or the emptiness in my stomach from not eating for a long period of time. Kagome was in the hands of those creeps. I needed to get her back.

I _had_ to have her back.

"Which way did they go?" I growled, my nose only faintly picking up her scent.

"It's no use. Once the Thunder Brothers have something it's gone forever."

"We're getting her back," I growled. There was no room in arguing over this. "Now which way is their lair?" Shippo stared at me, his green eyes wide. He stood up slowly and pointed. I nodded, picking him up by the back of his shirt and running in that direction. We didn't have any time to waste. The longer they had Kagome the more danger she was in.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

Manten had me backed into a corner, his hand sliding up the side of my leg. The top layer of my kimono was gone, discarded in a heap of other women's clothes. Hiten had two naked women at his side, his eyes watching intently as his brother's hands explored my body. I wanted to puke, to fight, to run, but my power was slowly regaining its hold in my body. These creeps were going to rape me before I got the chance to do any damage.

I took a shaky breath, closing my eyes. I felt as helpless as I did with Yura. I wasn't naked yet, but the slip I was wearing was thin, my bra and underwear easily visible.

"He's going to make a woman out of you tonight!" Hiten grinned, finally taking his eyes off of me. "You're lucky he picked you, I'm not nearly as gentle." He gripped one of the woman's breasts, his sharp nails digging into the soft tissue, leaving trails of blood behind. The woman seemed unfazed, either enjoying the pain or doing her best not to react. There was sympathy in her eyes for only a moment before she turned to Hiten, purring seductively.

"Enjoy yourself my brother, I will be taking my time with this," Manten said, seeming nervous.

Nervous? Ha! That was laughable. HE was assaulting me and HE was nervous. I bit my tongue, trying not to say anything. I didn't want to give these creeps the satisfaction of a reaction.

"Very well brother!" Hiten grinned, pulling the girls with him to another part of the decrepit house. Manten turned his attention back to me, his face turning pink. Was this monster _blushing_?

"It's my first time, so try to be gentle," he said. I groaned internally. He thought this was okay? He thought I was going to help him with this.

"Get your disgusting hands off of me," I ground out, trying to keep my voice low enough that Hiten wouldn't hear it. I could only assume he also had the same super-human-hearing that Inuyasha did.

"You are to be my wife," Manten looked confused.

"I didn't agree to any of this," My eyes bore into his.

"You don't have to," he said, a sadistic smile suddenly on his face. "You are going to be mine. I will own every piece of you and then you will fall in love with me."

"Not on your life," screw being quiet. My power surged up inside of me and I let it loose, knocking Manten back. His hand grabbed onto my slip as he fell backwards, ripping it off of my body. I ignored how naked I felt as I ran towards the sliding door, towards my freedom. I could hear Manten groaning about the few pieces of hair I knocked off his head.

I threw open the door and froze, not prepared for who was standing on the other side,

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

I could hear the struggle as it happened.

I ran up to the house as fast as I could, dropping Shippo off a safe distance away in case a fight broke out. No. A fight was _definitely_ going to break out. I was going to kill them both for thinking they could get away with taking Kagome away.

The door to the house flew open and I was granted a sight of Kagome in nothing but her underwear and this weird piece of clothing covering her breasts. She was frozen solid as our eyes met. I wanted to say something, tell her how nice and soft her skin looked under the pale light of the sun, when a hand grabbed her throat from behind and the misshapen brother appeared behind her.

"Where do you think you're going, dear wife?" he growled. _Wife_. My blood was boiling as Kagome's hands grabbed his, lighting up purple as she let a charge of spirit energy run through her. Manten screamed and dropped her, giving me the perfect opportunity to run my sword through his ugly body. I was sure to hit the heart, killing him instantly. I was lucky he wasn't one of those self-regeneration type. Though I guess I could have cut at him for hours with all of the harm he caused to Kagome.

Hiten flew around the corner as his brother's limp body fell to the ground. Our eyes locked and I could feel the tension in the air grow as thunder clouds rolled in.

"Kagome get out of here," I growled as she grabbed something from Manten's body and nodded. She ran towards where I dropped Shippo. I wanted to follow her with my eyes, but now was not the time to get distracted by long legs and creamy skin.

"You killed my brother," Hiten rasped.

"You kidnapped Kagome," I retorted. "You also killed that little fox demon's dad so I've got to settle the score for that too." I grinned as Hiten growled, rushing towards me. I moved out of the way easily, his anger betraying his actions.

"I will kill all of you!" he roared, spinning his spear in the air.

"Not if I kill you first!" I grinned, raising Tetsusaiga up and level with Hiten's chest. "I'll run you through just like I did your brother." Another roar escaped his lips as he charged. I blocked it easily, though lightning dropped from the sky nearby, heating the air. Another lightning storm. I need to end this fight soon or else Kagome's in a lot of danger.

"I will destroy all of you," he ground out, red eyes glowing in rage. The house nearby caught fire from a lightning strike, causing screams to erupt from inside. I could smell burning flesh and hair as the screaming increased, the roof caving in. Hiten only looked slightly inconvenienced.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

Shippo was crying into my chest as I held him gently. All of our supplies, my clothes, and those girls were burning in that house.

I was _not_ going to be running around this wasteland practically naked. With as many times as I've been kidnapped I was bound to end up rapped faster without anything on at all. I swallowed the bundle of nerves in my throat as I studied the situation. If Inuyasha could keep that monster occupied I would be able to run to the house and get everything before it all turned to cinders.

I looked down at Shippo. He was so small and frail. I couldn't take him with me. Would he be safe here by himself? We were a small distance away from the fight but would Hiten's lightning hit us at this distance? I sighed, my eyes lowering to the pelt in my hand.

"Shippo, I need you to be brave for me," I finally said, my voice gentle. "I need you to take your father's pelt and run towards the forest, stay away from the trees, but get even further away from this fight okay?" I tilted his head up so he would look at me, his green eyes watery and puffy from crying.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to help Inuyasha. Our things are in that house and if I don't get them we'll be left with nothing," I said, my decision made.

"Let me come with you," he begged, green eyes taking up his entire face. I shook my head.

"You need to stay safe."

"I can't lose anyone else," he whimpered. I ground my teeth, looking back at the fight between Hiten and Inuyasha. They were both landing some serious blows, but neither of them were backing down. I should have been running away. The further away I got the easier this fight would be on Inuyasha. He wouldn't have to worry about our safety. My teeth found my lower lip, worrying it until I could taste blood.

"You stay right next to me. This is going to be dangerous." I pulled the pelt over my shoulder and Shippo latched onto it. I ignored the overwhelming smell of death. We would give Shippo's father a proper funeral once all of this was over, but right now it just didn't sit right with me to leave him. I crouched low to the ground as I did my best to run towards the burning house. I managed to make it safely, only having to dodge the lightning once to get there. It seems to have no real pattern as it burnt the surrounding area of the fight. Maybe Hiten could only control it when he was concentrating?

Or maybe he was just so hurt over his brother's death he didn't care about controlling it.

A bolt dropped down right next to Inuyasha, almost hitting him directly. He was starting to look tired from the fight, his nonstop dodging and parring taking a toll on him. I turned my attention to that task at hand, climbing over Manten's body to get into the house. I dropped Shippo's dad's pelt at the door, giving Shippo a look that hopefully said 'stay here'. I found my Kimono, glad the fire hadn't spread this far yet, and pulled it on, loosely tying it around my body. I wasn't really worried about my cleavage showing since I was now faced with the fire itself. The house had been warm when we entered, but the closer I got to the source of the heat the hotter the air around me became.

The girls were screaming weakly, crying really. They had no hopes of Hiten coming to save them. But maybe I could.

I took a deep breath focusing on pushing the heat away from my skin as I walked towards it. I concentrated on it not touching me, of being so close but causing no harm to anything touching me. Swallowing down the fear building in my throat I stepped into the flames, not pausing to revel in the fact that I wasn't burning, or that I was pulling this out of my reserves. I wasn't sure how long this was going to last, or if I could even push this temporary immunity to the girls. Right now I was running towards the girls huddled against an interior wall, one of them trapped under a fallen support beam.

Their eyes were wide when they fell on me, covered in flames and rushing towards them. I studied the surrounding for a moment, finding my bag, bow, and other treasures tucked into a corner near them. I took mental note of it. Then my eyes searched for an easier route than walking through flames.

I wasn't sure I could pull that trick a second time with as tired as I was.

"The window," I said, voice too low for the girls to hear me. It was blocked by crumbling ceiling, but it was still big enough to crawl through. I ran towards it, ignoring the heat and the smoke threatening to choke me. I pulled it open, almost breaking the panes out of place. I did my best to push some of the debris out of the way so the girls would have an easier time getting out. I took a steadying breath before turning to them. They were cuffed together which explained why the one not trapped under the ceiling wasn't running right now. Before leaving the proximity of the fire I pulled its heat to me, doing my best to hold onto it as my thoughts began jumbling. The smoke was getting to me, causing a headache to form.

I felt like I could fly away.

I bit down on my lip and rushed towards the girls. "Sit still, this might hurt," I ground out as I concentrated the heat on the connecting point in the cuffs. The metal glowed red hot. The girls' eyes grew wide until one of them pulled hard away from the other, breaking them apart. I expected her to run immediately, or to fight against me. I have no idea where her loyalties lie with Hiten.

"Can you help me move this?" She asked after a long moment. I wanted to pass out, to say no, to just lay down and give up, but I nodded. She gave one fast nod before she was standing and bracing herself against the beam to push it.

"We have to lift it, that will just cause more damage." I said for a moment, looking at the ceiling and the way it was laying on her. I turned to the trapped girl. She looked younger than I did, her face streaked with soot and sweat. "I need you to pull your leg to the left when we lift this up. We're only going to be able to have it up for a couple seconds." She nodded shakily, her body going rigid. "Ready?" I turned to the girl next to me. She had shifted her stance to be able to pull up instead of push to the side. She gave me one more nod before I mimicked her stance, gripping the beam as well as I could. I wish I could pull strength from Inuyasha or maybe even steal it from Hiten, but I pushed as much as I could, hearing something very unpleasant popping in my back.

We managed to lift the beam and the girl yanked her leg out, almost knocking it into me. But she was out. They could escape. I leaned against the wall, wheezing. The girls were at the window, doing their best to climb out. I took a moment to attempt to breathe, feeling like all of my strength was leaving my body.

"Kagome!" Shippo yelled, causing me to look up. He was on the other side of the flame, looking for me. I ground my teeth, forcing myself up. I grabbed our bag and the other tattered bags in the corner, throwing them through the thinner parts of the fire. I focused on the fire again and as I walked I could feel the heat more intensely, warning me that my powers were waning again, over used before I could even store them back up. I could almost feel the flames against my skin as I took my last steps and fell to my knees on the other side. The heat was unbearable, but I had gotten through. For the moment being I was still alive and I had accomplished my goal, with a little extra.

"Are you okay?" Shippo fussed, jumping into my lap and studying my face. I nodded weakly.

"We need to go," I said, my voice shaking.

I wanted to lay down, to fall asleep.

I had to get away so Inuyasha could fight against Hiten without holding back.

"Alright," Shippo said, putting on a strong face. He shoved all the bags together and threw some leaves on them, shrinking them down. "This will only last an hour, but we should be able to carry it all easier," He said, grinning at me. I nodded, my lips pulling up in the corners. We shoved the miniature bags into our bag and I grabbed my bow before throwing the pelt over my shoulder and letting Shippo climb on my back. I'm lucky he weighs next to nothing or else I probably wouldn't be able to carry him.

The moment I stepped outside I took in the scene in front of me, Inuyasha was covered in blood and healing wounds, his sword slicing through Hiten's shoulder, still moving with momentum. Hiten was finished, and yet his eyes met mine, a sadistic smile curling on his lips.

"You may have ended us, but I'll be taking her with me!" He yelled, pointing his staff at me. Heat enveloped Shippo and I as I felt my blood boiling for just a second. Blue enveloping my body, taking my vision from me.


	20. Chapter 20

**Inuyasha**

* * *

Kagome was sneaking towards the house like I couldn't fucking see her. I just brought her from that place and now she was running back into the nest. At least I was occupying the only threat left, unless those girls in the house attacked Kagome.

She couldn't be going in there to save them?

Hiten rammed his spear into my side, bringing my thoughts back to dodging and slashing.

"What's the matter Inuyasha? Not enough power to kill me?" He growled, pulling his spear before I could grab it. If I could only get it out of his grasp then I could end this now and not have to worry about Kagome getting hit by lightning. Although right now I was more worried about her dying from the fire. I growled back, dodging another stab.

"Just tiring you out," I snapped back, swinging Tetsusaiga at him. I hit his side, but the wound was shallow, healing almost instantly, almost. He was a slower healer than I was. I wonder if it took the same amount of stamina, if he had to concentrate on it. Maybe if I hit him enough I can cause him to freeze for a second too long.

I jumped, dodging another lightning bolt.

This was getting aggravating really fast. I wasn't sure if Kagome was safe in that house. If the lightning could reach her there too. What about those girls, are they were helping her or hurting her. I could barely hear their screams anymore. Maybe they were dead. That would be one less thing to worry about.

Though it was terrible to think of their death as a good thing, but there's no way of knowing where their allegiances lie, or if they were just a way to get to Kagome's soft heart. Kikyo would help people because her power called for her to help. The more good she did the stronger it would become. Kagome forces her power so that she can help. So that she can do the good things Kikyo was known for.

"Focus on me!" Hiten yelled, bringing lightning down on me. I had a split second to dodge and I wasn't fast enough. I grit my teeth together to keep myself from yelling. Kagome didn't need to know how the fight was going. She just needed to do whatever the hell she was doing and get the fuck out of there.

Once the lightning was gone I rushed Hiten, hitting him unexpectedly, causing four deep cuts. They began healing as I jumped away, blocking his spear. Lightning fell close to the house, causing me to panic, but I ignored it. I was doing Kagome no help if I died trying to figure out if she was alive. Movement out of the corner of my eye caused me to look for a second. Luckily Hiten was distracted as well. Two girls were running, one limping, they were both covered in small burns and soot. Their hair gone in patches. More rage was filling Hiten's expression as he raised his spear. I took the opening, shoving Tetsusaiga into his chest, just barely missing his heart. He turned at the last second, seeing my movement.

"Focus on me," I growled at him, giving the girls their chance to escape. If Kagome risked her life to get them out I wasn't going to waste it.

"Meddling half demon," He roared, lightning began striking at random. Luckily nothing hit close to the house or the girls. I was now the soul holder of his attention and rage. At least I could forget about Kagome for a couple of seconds.

"At least I'm making it out of here alive!" I grinned at him,

"Over my dead body!"

"That's the plan!" I yelled, turning his momentary fit of rage against him. He was too focused on yelling and making lightning strike that he left himself wide open. I brought Tetsusaiga over my head, forcing it through his shoulder and running it through his body, effectively slicing through his heart and out the other side. His red eyes focused on something behind me and he grinned, something that made me sick.

"You may have ended us, but I'll be taking her with me!" I whipped around, watching in horror as a thick bolt of lightning struck down, enveloping Kagome and Shippo. A loud sound escaped her lips for a moment. I turned back to Hiten, the life already leaving his eyes. I wanted to bring him back to kill him again. She can't die like this.

I pulled Tetsusaiga from the small piece of flesh it was stuck in and wiped it off, trying to keep my rage contained. I walked towards Kagome slowly as she was surrounded by a weird blue light, the lightning now gone.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

It was like every nerve in my body was being attacked at once. I couldn't stop the sound that escaped my throat. I was being filled by the blue light, causing my body to go into overdrive. Something snapped inside of me, taking the power the lightning and this blue light had produced and eating it, devouring it, letting it take over what small power reservoir I had before. It was forced to stretch to make way for the energy invading me. It was like a thousand needles puncturing my skin at once, and everything inside of me was tearing apart trying to make room for something that was entirely too big. Shippo was shaking against me, his small body unaffected by the blue energy invading me. All that mattered was he was alright.

I focused on that point as I could see Inuyasha walking closer, his steps controlled and slow. He was staring at me, telling me that this wasn't just hell. I was still alive. Though from the look on his face you wouldn't know that. I wonder how I must look to him; surrounded by blue energy, my face was probably a mask of pain.

Slowly everything began ebbing away, the blue light dissipating, the pain causing me to become numb. Shippo was looking at me with awe. I whimpered as I fell to my knees. Inuyasha seemed to come to the conclusion that I wasn't dead, but in fact very much still breathing as he ran forward, confusion painted his face. I wish I could slap it off of him. Actually I wish I would have had the forethought to tie this kimono tighter against me. Even with the fabric wrapped around my body I felt too exposed under his worried gaze.

Nobody said anything for a very long time. I just sat there on my knees, my hands digging into the dirt, waiting for the pain to come back. I could barely feel my extremities, let alone the earth. But it was nice knowing it was there, right in my grasp, keeping me grounded. Finally Shippo broke the silence by sobbing.

"Kagome I thought we were dead!" He yelled, burying his face in my hair. I began shaking feeling the tears welling up.

"Me too Shippo."

"My dad saved us," Shippo said, pulling the pelt closer to him. "The last of his magic blocked the lightning," And caused me significant pain. The feeling in my fingers was coming back to me as I tried to force myself to stand.

"You're not hurt are you," Inuyasha asked, his gaze steady on my face, looking for signs of pain.

"No, I'm fine. I was just scared," I lied. I wasn't sure what really happened, but this was not really the time to talk about it. I felt different, something inside of me more stable, steady, and ready to be called forward. It was almost _itching_ to be used. I quieted it, forcing it down. I looked down at Shippo, feeling the warmth his small body was pushing into my arm. Why was I so cold? "Let's give him a proper burial," I smiled. Shippo nodded, tears streaming down his face.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

Kagome was alive. She was breathing. For the first time since I've met her she was smiling with a light like the sun emitting from her soul. I almost couldn't breathe. For a few agonizing seconds I thought she was dead. I had felt my heart stop when she fell forward, still breathing.

Now she's sitting next to Shippo, going through their horde of bags that caused me to fall earlier due to them suddenly expanding. She looked happy… but a little distant. That first smile she gave Shippo was like the sun, but now the light didn't quite reach her eyes. She didn't bother with her fire show tonight, instead curling up to Shippo in a nest of furs they pulled from the bags. I was wondering how we were supposed to carry all of this stuff around, but decided not to delve too far into it tonight.

* * *

A little over a week passed with little incident. Kagome didn't try stretch her abilities anymore, instead focusing on making sure Shippo was eating enough and fussing over him like he was her own kit. The little asshole was worming his way straight into her heart and I couldn't even find a door or a crack. I stared at him as Kagome inspected the hot spring nearby. She vaguely remembered there one being in the vacinity and wanted to check it out.

"What," Shippo asked 'innocently'. He had a mischievously gleam in his eyes that was grating on my last nerve.

"How do you do it?" I growled, careful to keep my voice down in case Kagome could suddenly hear like a wolf. She's been acting weird recently and I was worried the lightning had done something to her.

"Do what?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Get Kagome to like you so much." I grumbled. He stared at me for a moment.

"I don't know. Why don't you try being nice to her instead of being a total dick all the time."

"I should-"

"I think there's only a little bit of radiation left in the water," Kagome said, emerging from the woods. "Maybe I can try to clear it up," Her face was sunny, her smiling causing my stomach to do weird things.

"Then why did you come back here?" I asked, trying to replace my look of admiration with a scowl. "And you haven't been practicing, are you sure you can even still do it?"

"Do you not believe in me?" She tilted her head to the side, causing her hair to fall in her face. She was going to need a haircut soon. "Besides, just in case somethings lurking around I need someone keeping watch." I grunted but stood, walking off in the direction her scent had been. It was easy following her trail, just follow the scent of sunshine and lavender. She had been dismayed when she found out that 'perfume' wasn't a thing anymore, but she figured out a way to make this spray out of lavender petals and purified water with a few other ingredients laying around Kaede's village. It made her smell different, almost masking her natural smell, almost. I stopped at the edge of the water.

A little bit of radiation? This water reeked of the stuff. Could she still sense it? She walked behind me, mumbling something about rude dogs. She was wearing one of the silk dresses that they found in one of the bags. It cut off mid-thigh, exposing her legs. She could get really sick if the radiation seeped into her body from the exposure.

"Kagome, this place reeks of radiation. Are you sure your heads in the right place for this?" I asked, unable to keep the worry out of my voice.

"If I feel like it's too much I'll get out,"

"Get out? You're not going in there," I growled as she stepped passed me, her hand briefly stopping on mine, as if to still me. She stepped her foot in the water and my stomach rolled. This was a terrible idea.

If I would have been paying attention I would have realized the hairs on my neck were standing up because of shadow behind us, and not because I was worried Kagome was going to get a bought of radiation sickness.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

I could feel the water directly around my body purifying as I stepped tentatively into the spring. It was so warm I was almost tempted to dive right in.

But I restrained myself. That would be a stupid decision and I wasn't ready to die yet. Over the past week I could feel the hungry need of the power inside of me to be used. It coiled in my body, ready to strike out at any moment. I didn't want to risk over doing anything while this new monster was forming inside of me. Shippo's dad's magic had expanded my own, making it something other than what it had been previously. I still wasn't sure if I could purify this entire spring, but I was going to start with this pool and see what I could do from there.

I chose the one with the least radiation, the water's shallow and calm, only reaching my hips. I walked slowly to the center, concentrating on the radiation around me, trying to attach to me, to change what was in my bones and blood. I took a calming breath as I stopped, trying to calculate how big this pool was, how much water was in it. It was a lot for my first attempt, but I needed to do this.

I placed my hands on the surface and thought about clean water, about the way the sparkling water in Kaede's village had no pollution in it. I could feel the radiation start slipping away from my palms, slowly. The green tint I was sure only I could see right now was beginning to recede, giving way to the swirling blues and light purples that signified, at least to me, that it was alright to be around. It was slow, sometimes I lost my concentration as I could feel Inuyasha's hard gaze on me. I powered through it though, fighting back for the ground I lost when I slipped.

It took maybe thirty minutes to clear the pool. I didn't remove my hands until I was 100% sure I had gotten every ounce of radiation. Shippo looked at me with awe from Inuyasha's shoulder. I wasn't even sure Inuyasha himself knew the kit was there. The look of pride on Inuyasha's face caused my heart to clench.

"Well you proved me wrong," he said, relief flooding his voice.

"Wow Kagome!" Shippo said, his face lighting up. I smiled, letting myself relax in the water for a moment. I looked around me, feeling like something was just a little off, like there was something I was missing, but it was lost in the relief that I _could_ control this power in me, even if I had to wrangle it down to keep it contained at times.

"Now it's time for a bath!" I grinned, motioning for Inuyasha to leave. He gave me a weird look for a moment before Shippo jumped off his shoulder and started stripping off the clothes we had bought for him in a neighboring town.

"Why does he get to bathe with you?" Inuyasha growled, his voice lower than normal. Something inside of me reacted, begging me to invite him too. I pushed that down as well. He belonged with Kikyo, I had no right to him.

"Because you're a gross old man!" Shippo teased, jumping into the water. Inuyasha growled at him. I simply frowned and pointed, waiting for him to take the hint.


	21. Chapter 21

**?**

* * *

The man stared at the woman in the hot spring, his eyes not really believing what he had seen. He had no powers of purification to speak of, but he knew a thing or two about the different types of people that could pull off a feat such as this. He had studied under a few himself, trying to pull some of his fathers talents out of thin air. Unfortunately the exorcist couldn't do what this girl could.

He grinned, watching the way the girl played with the young fox demon, unaware that he had very big plans for her. After all, who better to bear his children than a priestess with such remarkable gifts!

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

Something was definitely wrong. I couldn't place it though. A shiver ran down my spine as I waded my way out of the water, grumbling because I forgot a towel. Shippo had long since ran ahead of me yelling something about a big secret he had to share with Inuyasha. I rolled my eyes thinking about those two. They were starting to get along, at least a little bit. I smiled, pulling silk onto my wet body. The fabric clung to me, making my movements feel awkward and wrong. I sighed, following a trail of sparkling swirling bits of air and broken twigs to the camp. I've gotten better with this sight adjustment thing. It use to throw me off, adding extra information without explanation. Now I understood that it reacted to what I wanted. I would be able to use this ability to find Kikyo.

To bring Inuyasha happiness.

My stomach did a weird flip and I groaned, following the path.

I should have been paying attention.

I have the worst luck.

Something heavy and hard hit my head, causing my vision to crack with new lights, bright white and black. My vision ebbed and flowed with my accelerating heart as I fell to the ground. Clutching my now bruised head I struggled to sit up as a cloth was pressed against my nose and mouth, causing me to breathe in what could only be the post-apocalyptic equivalent of chloroform.

* * *

Waking up was the worst decision I had made. Ever. My brain was on fire and I had the urge to cough up an entire lung. My vision was blurry, but there were no extra colors to disorient me further, making this just a bit easier than it could have been. I groaned, attempting to push myself up. That was when I realized my hands and feet were bound and there was a chain linking the bindings together and to the floor.

"If another perverted idiot tries getting in my pants so help me…" I ground out, my nerves on edge.

"Well lucky for me you're not wearing any pants." A voice called out from a darkened corner in an already dark room. I managed to push myself up as he stepped forward, not looking anything like one of the fearsome demons I was assuming was still on my trail. It had been so long since I've had any sort of threat handed to me by one of Centipede's minions or even heard the name Naraku murmured. It was nice, but I was pretty sure my grace period was about to be up.

"It's a figure of speech. I can assure you any move made on me with cost you your life." I reach inside myself to push something out to destroy the bindings when… nothing happened. Because I couldn't find anything inside of me. It was like the power I had been working so hard on had just been taken away.

"Your priestess powers can't assist you now. I'm an exorcist!" He grinned, leering down at me. I guess that sounds kind of frightening, but I had no idea what that meant exactly. My blank stare must have given me away because he scoffed, looking a tad bit irritated.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" I asked, tilting my head just a tad bit.

"You don't know what exorcists are?" He looked shocked and confused. Maybe even partially concerned.

"To be completely fair I don't even know your name," I stated. I was trying to get him to talk so I could find some way to get out of this mess.

"I'm Miroku!" He said proudly hands on his hips for a moment. He wore an unusual purple garb resembling a dress in my honest opinion. Fashion, customs, everything in Japan had rebooted itself to the feudal era. Only the ruins of large cities seemed to tell anyone that there had ever been a different time. If I stared at his dress long enough it tickled something in my memory that I couldn't quite reach.

"That tells me part of the story. What's an exorcist?" I had a vague idea about removing demons but maybe he could give me more information and keep himself distracted at the same time. Win/win or so they say.

"How do you not know what exorcists are? They're almost essential to most cities or towns!"

"It's a really long story, I won't bore you with the details," I waved one of my hands up and down, trying to test how loose the binding was.

"Well exorcists rid town of demons, much like demon exterminators."

"That's not very nice you know!" I sat up on my knees, looking at 'Miroku' sternly. "Just because demons look a bit different and have super messed up powers doesn't mean you guys can just go around killing other humans!" Not that I was really one to talk. I had my fair share of demon blood, _human blood_ , on my hands. My only excuse was it was for self preservation and defense. I don't go out and _seek_ demons to kill them. They normally find me.

"Have you been brainwashed?" Miroku looked bewildered and concerned. "All demons care about is power, and they will do _anything_ to become more powerful."

"Sounds a lot like any man in any position of power," I retorted, shooting daggers at him.

"Exorcists have an additional advantage over most people though," Miroku looked at me for a moment before a cool expression took over his features. "We have the ability to suppress other's gifts, like your rather powerful purification abilities. I'm not sure what other tricks you have up your sleeve but I'm not taking any chances."

"How do you know what I can do?" I asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I saw what you did at the hot spring."

"You mean to say you were watching me while I was bathing. What a pervert!" I yelled. His mind was distracted for just a second by the outburst and I could feel the little well of energy hiding underneath some sort of veil. I reached deep inside of myself, ignoring the strain as I focused on the fibers in my restraints, willing them to loosen. I got them off as Miroku just looked up at me from his position sprawled across the floor.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

Kagome was gone. Her scent was mingled with an unfamiliar one and a growl rumbled through my chest as Shippo studied the scene of the crime. Kagome's scent was masked by something, causing it to disappear after a few feet away from the spring. I thought it was weird that Shippo returned to camp without her, but after what felt like hours of her being gone I finally went to investigate.

I waited too long.

"Kagome has a bad habit of getting kidnapped," Shippo stated, looking up at me with too-big eyes. He was scared, I could smell it on him.

"I wish I could say that was a lie. You've seen some of what she can do, she's like a piece of jewelry to most collectors because of how valuable that gift is. I knew we shouldn't have been helping too many people." I growled again, scanning the area for signs of a struggle or something. Some clue I could use to find her.

Something shimmered off in the distance and I sprinted towards it, my hands grasping at the ground to grab it. A familiar collar had fell in the bushes, connected with all of Kagome's other mementos. She always had this thing on her person if she could help it, stuffing it in the pockets of her kimonos and dresses. It gave her a little more courage, or maybe it reminded her to keep going. Unfortunately all it gave me was a vague direction in which I was suppose to follow. Not even the stranger's scent was strong enough for me to track it.

"Do you think an exorcist could have done this?" Shippo looked at the trinket in my hand and I shoved it into my shirt.

"Whoever the hell it was doesn't know who they're messing with." I responded, looking down at the kit. He was so small, unusually so even for a fox demon, and would probably get in the way of me trying to beat the shit out of whoever had Kagome this time. I only hoped it wasn't one of Centipede's lackeys, or even one of Naraku's. "Shippo, go pack up the camp and head back to Kaede's village. It's just on the outskirts of Tokyo. Keep to the woods and tell the old hag or any humans that bother you that you're with Kagome. They'll keep you safe."

"I want to come with."

"If you get hurt while I'm trying to save that stupid girl she'll never forgive me. So just do as I ask please." He nodded once and scurried back to the camp. Luckily for me I knew the little mutt had enough of a sense of direction that he wasn't going to get lost.

Unlike Kagome.

I stalked forward, silently praying that she could handle herself until I got there. Purifying that hot spring had to have taken a lot out of her, and if she was dealing with an exorcist she wouldn't have that gift of hers to help her out anyway. She would have to be quick witted to get out of that vipers nest.

I thought back to the way she used heat to save the frog prince, or the way she helped those girls escape even at the cost of her life. She was so full of concern I was almost positive it was going to get her killed one of these days. Kikyo would never have gotten kidnapped by a lowly exorcist.

A groan escaped my throat. Comparing the two women always gave me conflicted emotions. I wanted Kikyo back, more to return her to Kaede and know she was safe. Somewhere along the lines of traveling with Kagome my emotions had gotten all tangled up. I wasn't sure what I was feeling for who anymore.

The strong scent of sunshine and lavender picked up and I grinned, following the path until I reached an old abandoned shrine. It reeked of sleeping potion and I had to cover my nose and mouth to keep myself from inhaling too much of the stuff. I could hear loud noises coming from inside and a spike in the scent of sunshine told me Kagome was using her ability. It had become the tell I needed to know when she was summoning just an extra bit of something to make things go her way. I wasn't sure she was really aware of it herself but she had charmed quite a few merchants into practically giving her their cart for almost nothing.

Another loud voice, muffled by the thick walls of the shrine, broke me from my thoughts as I yanked the door open. Kagome was standing over a monk in purple, fire blazing in her eyes as she berated him for being a 'peeping Tom'. She turned to face me, almost as if she had expected me to be there. A smile was on her face, something she quickly smothered into a more subdued grin.

"Well I guess I don't need to come rescuing you anymore. You seem to have it all figured out," I huffed as she jumped down from the slightly elevated platform and nodded, not looking back at the cowering monk.

"Come on. It's almost supper time." Kagome began walking, expecting me to follow. I turned to look at the monk, his face as white as a sheet.

"Don't think of pulling that shit again," I finally said following after Kagome begrudgingly. He didn't move until long after I was out of earshot to hear his movements. Kagome was quiet in front of me, humming a distracting tune. How was I suppose to brood when her voice kept invading my thoughts?

When our path intersected a road I stopped her. "I sent Shippo back to Kaede's. I thought that monk was going to be more trouble than he was."

"I guess we should head back then," Kagome smiled, making my stomach feel light and my heart constrict a little. I simply nodded, walking ahead without looking back. Kagome made a frustrated noise and then followed me, her hummed tune lost to the wind.

* * *

Our first night without Shippo started quietly. Kagome fiddled with the fire, complaining about how hungry she was and I ran off to the woods to find an overgrown something to eat. It was peaceful for a little while until a familiar scent of sleeping potion hit the wind. A growl escaped my throat as I threw what was left of the bone I was gnawing on into the woods behind me.

"That monk is following us," I answered Kagome's concerned look. She shrugged and continued eating her food in that odd dainty way she always had. I stood up, sniffing the air, waiting for him to use his exorcist abilities to subdue my demonic abilities. There were things exorcists could and could not take away from you for limited amounts of time. He might be able to skew my senses but Tetsusaiga couldn't be suppressed. It was made from my fathers fang and was far too powerful for most exorcists. But not all.

I pulled my sword from its sheath as Kagome ignored the situation. Choosing instead to enjoy her food and stare into the fire, lost in thought. A rustling from the bushes nearby alerted me to the monks location and I waited, sword poised and ready when he finally walked into the lighted clearing.

"What do you want?" Kagome asked politely after swallowing her mouthful of food. My body was too tense to appreciate her nonchalance.

"I may have been too hasty in my original intentions." The monk sighed and eyed me warily. I growled again, asserting dominance over the other male. "Maybe if we just sit down and talk we can work something out," there was a sparkle in his eyes as he talked, his attention now fully on Kagome.

"What's there to talk about," Kagome tilted her head to the side and I finally let my body relax, returning Tetsusaiga to its sheath.

"There's a demon plaguing a nearby village and-"

"No," I spoke before he could finish. "I don't know what you're playing at but the answers no."

"Hear him out," Kagome's soft voice spoke out stunning me for just a moment.

"This creep drugged and kidnapped you and you want to hear him out?"

"With such a strong and fearsome demon accompanying me I don't blame him," the sarcasm in her voice was lethal but her eyes were piercing me with a warning. "Besides if we do this for him he'll owe us."

"That may work where you're from but around here people don't pay back debts, they kill to be free of them."

"Then keep me safe," her response was immediate and as she turned back to the monk I couldn't find the words to explain to her how stupid and dangerous this could turn out to be. What if I couldn't protect her?

'Then you'll just have to try harder,' a voice in my head answered. 'Don't let this be a repeat of Kikyo.'

"What exactly is going on?"

"Well, there's been rumors of a demon using ink drawings to kill humans in this area."

"Normies," Kagome interjected, her eyes set in her gaze at the monk's face.

"Right. Normies. Anyway they've been dying at an alarming rate. People think he's looking for someone because he only goes after women that match your description. I was going to use you as bait to lure him out but…"

"No," I responded and Kagome said, "alright." I turned to look at her incredulously. She shrugged again.

"Are you stupid you could end up dead!?"

"I'm stronger than the girls he's killed before. Besides, I have you." She stood up dramatically and looked at the monk. "You've got yourself a deal Miroku." I sighed and sat back down, trying to make the monk explode with my mind. I didn't have the time to deal with this but as the two spoke I found it harder and harder to sit still.

The monk was obviously putting the moves on Kagome, scooting closer to her as he drew battle plans in the sand around the campfire. Placing an arm on her shoulder when she asked questions.

Kagome finally noticed his advances when his hand reached for her rear, only for him to receive a well deserved slap across the face. All thoughts of plans were shoved aside as she stormed out of our makeshift camp muttering about lecherous monks. I stared at Miroku for a long time, trying to think of something to say.

"So is Kagome yours?"

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean?" I stammered, a little at a loss for words.

"Well most women take more kindly to my affections. I figure she must be taken to react so negatively." He shrugged, knocking his shoulder into his staff that was propped on the tree. It made a jangling noise as silence set in once again. When I didn't respond he grinned at me. "So what's she like?"

"I wouldn't know." I answered with a low cough.

"Well how do you feel about her?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because if she's not yours I'm certainly going to try to make her mine." He wagged his eyebrows and I coughed, feeling uncomfortable. Why did Kagome agree to work with this freak? I mean she doesn't even know him.

She's too trusting.

' _I have you,_ ' her words bounced around on the inside of my head as we sat in relative silence, only Kagome's soft cursing and the crackling of fire softened the tension.

"You're on," I spoke louder than expected. I took his declaration as a challenge. His grin widened and a laugh shook his chest.

"Let's keep it a fair fight."

"No chance. Cause I've already won." I grinned back. At least, I hope I did. Maybe I was just kidding myself. But maybe I really had a shot.


	22. Chapter 22

**Kagome**

* * *

Inuyasha was acting weird, well weirder than normal, and Miroku was not helping the situation. For the first time in my life I felt like one of those popular girls that were constantly getting fawned over and having guys ask for their numbers. I use to want to feel like this. Now I know why those girls always act like frigid bitches to get guys to go away.

I wanted to run screaming for the hills but I had already agreed to help Miroku with this creepy ink guy. As we approached the most recent battle sight of said creepy guy my 'supervision' was going crazy. Trails of black air swirled over dead bodies and a terrible smell was emitting from the corpses. I was getting use to the smell of dead things. Dead people, dead animals, stagnant water, decaying forests. It was a fact of life in this world.

I was not prepared for how _these_ corpses smelled, however. It had the copper smell of blood, the black wrong smell of ink, and something foreign that I didn't have the right words to describe. They just smelled wrong.

"This was a demon alright," Inuyasha growled as he covered his face with the sleeve of his shirt. Miroku nodded sagely next to me, a little too close for my comfort. "It reeks of demons and ink."

"Is it too much for your sensitive dog nose?" Miroku laughed and Inuyasha dropped his hand as if to argue when he suddenly looked very sick. I sighed. If I gave him any sympathy for his 'sickness' one of the idiots might start hitting on me again and I couldn't handle that right now.

"How are we supposed to find this guy?" Miroku asked after a moment of silence as we stared at the corpses. A month ago I would have screamed my head off and probably cried at the sight. Now I was just sad that all of these people lost their lives fighting a guy that was after me.

"Give me a minute," I frowned, looking for a trail away from the ink. There was nothing but a pile of corpses and the swirling black aura around them.

"He wasn't present when the attack happened, was he?" Inuyasha asked, his voice muffled by his sleeve.

"There's no trail leading to or from the site," I sighed, crouching down on my knees to examine the nearest corpse a little better. The place may have reeked of blood but there wasn't a single drop in the man's body. "Do you think the ink demons this guy makes drink blood?" I turned to look at Miroku, who in turned gave Inuyasha a weird smile.

I was tired of their stupid game.

"It's possible. Unfortunately, it's going to be hard to tell."

"There's no blood in these corpses but they reek of the stuff," I frowned down at the dead man, almost willing him to tell me the information I needed.

"How can you smell anything but ink?" Inuyasha moaned from a bit of a distance. I looked over my shoulder at him and sighed.

"Who knows," I stood up and turned away from the scene. It was making me a little nauseous.

"We should head into town and see if the people there can't give us any clues," Miroku offered and I nodded. Inuyasha was practically running to get away.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

My bet with Miroku was going terribly because Kagome didn't seem to enjoy the attention. Every time I tried to put a move on her Miroku would intervene. But now we were alone and I couldn't even find the courage to apologize for my stupid behavior. So I settled for carrying Kagome's newly purchased bow since Shippo has everything we own. It was kind of good that I sent him off. He may be tough for such a little guy but I don't think he's ready for this kind of carnage yet.

"I wonder how Shippo's doing," Kagome sighed into her cup of tea. Stray leaves were floating on the surface and her eyes followed their every movement.

"He's tough, I'm sure he's fine."

"He's just a kid," Kagome sounded troubled. "He should stay at Kaede's."

"I don't think that's what he would want," I frowned. It would be nice to spend time with Kagome alone again. Maybe after the pervert monk leaves I'll be able to actually get somewhere with Kagome. Though I wasn't sure that's what I wanted so maybe that wasn't the best idea. I did, however, know that Kagome seemed a little lost without Shippo around, like he was something that could keep her mind grounded when her thoughts went astray. She looked so fragile right now.

Of course, I wouldn't believe she was for a single second.

I'm not really sure at all what I want. It was really stupid to agree to this game.

"He's not going to be safe traveling with us." Kagome shook her head.

"To be completely honest nowhere is really safe. Kaede's village gets attacked by raiders almost once a week."

"I can't wait until all of this is over so I can focus on protecting them," Kagome's voice was a whisper. Why would anyone want to protect a bunch of thankless villagers anyway? Hell I did it for years and all I got was complaints that the raiders got too close to town or that someone got injured because they were somewhere they weren't supposed to be.

I wasn't really sure if Kagome meant for me to hear her comment so I stayed silent, keeping my arms crossed and leaning my head back against the tree. We really should have been helping Miroku with the search for information but it was such an abnormally nice day that we were instead spending it next to a koi pond, one of the first I've seen in years. These didn't even look mutated.

Kagome drank the last of her tea in silence, her face unreadable as she stood and stepped closer to the pond. Once her shoes were off and her dress was hiked up, giving me an absolutely amazing view of her legs and an accidental view of her underwear, she stepped into the pond. The water seemed to glow around her as she hummed a slow tune, her eyes focused on the water.

"There are such small traces of radiation everywhere we go," She finally said as she looked over her shoulder at me. The sun was dancing in the water behind her, making it almost look like she was standing in heavenly light. "I wonder how this world still functions, being so messed up like this. People killing others because they can, people throwing others to the side just because they're different."

"Everyone lives for themselves now. From what I've heard of your time it makes a lot of people happier than they were back then."

"It's still wrong," Kagome frowned and it didn't look right, not with the scene in front of me. She turned away again, muttering something I couldn't hear because the wind was blowing the other way. I wished it was blowing her scent towards me.

I wished I could make up my mind for longer than ten seconds. Guilt was twisting in my stomach from my back and forth thoughts, causing my mouth to begin talking without permission.

"Well once we're done with this why don't you just go back to Kaede's village?"

"I promised I would help you," Kagome turned back around to frown at me some more. "I'm not going to go back on my word just because I don't like the way things are out here. It's not just going to change because I go home." Kagome's dress dropped from her hands, falling into the water. But her entire focus was trained on me, that determined fire burning in her eyes. "I'm not giving up on your happiness." She turned around and waded to the center of the pond and continued walking, muttering just low enough to make it impossible to hear her.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

I walked through the village angrily as my dress dried in the sun. I mourned the loss of my shoes but I wasn't going back there. Miroku was around here somewhere, I just knew it.

I ignored the eyes following me as I continued to trudge forward, slowly letting my anger simmer to a low boil. Inuyasha was always so ready to push me out, to leave me on the sidelines. I was not going to keep playing this game.

A man bumped into me, dropping an armful of rolled clothes and papers. He was fretting and disorganized, quickly jumping to the ground to retrieve his things.

"I'm sorry sir," I bent down to help him, something in my stomach churning. My gut was telling me this was the wrong move, a bad idea. I ignored it, determination to help as much as possible. Once the man was finished scrambling to get all of his things he looked up at me and froze.

There was something in his eyes, something that made my blood run cold. A grin spread across his face as he threw one of the ink drawings down and began laughing.

"It took all this time but I finally found you!" the laugh was wrong, off sounding, making me want to vomit up my lunch. There was a darkness in it as clouds began rolling in, looking more black than grey.

"I don't understand," I backed away from the man as my eyes fell on the ink drawing that was unraveled at my feet. It depicted a horde of demons, blood was splashed across the page and that's when I realized his hand was bleeding.

Ink black drops fell from the sky, staining my kimono and the ground around us. Villagers screamed, running in all directions away from the man standing in front of me. He looked ordinary, his hair was thinning a bit and he had a terrible look on his face, but otherwise he was absolutely ordinary.

"Centipede sent me to retrieve your body," The man began laughing, "She no longer cares if you're alive or dead!" I took another step back, bumping into a tall figure behind me. I spun on my heel, expecting the worst but was greeted with a very pissed looking Miroku. He gently guided me out of the way and stepped forward, his staff jingling with every motion.

"Such a fowl man to hunt a woman down like this! You shall be exorcised!"

"I'm afraid I'm a little too powerful for the likes of you, lowly exorcist!" The man began laughing again as the ink on the ground began pulsing and moving together, growing into a mutated shape. It was a slow enough process that Miroku decided to take some initiative. He sprang forward, startling the man as his staff met with his head. The man fell, muttering curses. I stood frozen in place, not sure what I should do. The same wrong swirling black mist began taking over my vision as the ink monsters began forming faster, fueled by the man's rage and pain.

If something wasn't done soon we were going to be in a lot of trouble.

"You'll regret that monk!" The man hissed as Miroku raised his staff again. The man smiled as a beast, now fully formed, ripped the staff from Miroku's hands and flung it away from us. Miroku cursed under his breath, gripping at his right hand.

"Kagome, get as far back as you can," He yelled over his shoulder as he began pulling at the pearls he had wrapped around his hand. "I don't want to accidentally hurt you." I wasn't sure what was going on but I nodded, turning to run away, only to be stopped by two of the ogre-looking-ink-creations blocking my escape route. I clenched my fist, worried about what we were going to do.

One of the ogres stepped forward as Miroku uncovered his hand and shouted something that was lost to the winds now swirling from his hand.

No, that wasn't right. The winds were pulling the ink creatures _towards_ Miroku. I grabbed onto a nearby post as I looked at Miroku, my eyes feeling like they were going hay wire. Purple and green air currents were pulling the monsters into a black whole situated in the center of Miroku's hand. His face was so concentrated as the monsters tumbled inside of it.

The hole was closed the second Miroku placed the pearls once again over his hand.

The demon painter stood in shock for a moment, not able to process what he saw.

The scroll on the ground was now blank, and the cloud began clearing up.

For just a second I thought we were in the clear.


	23. Chapter 23

**Inuyasha**

* * *

Kagome was out of my sight for two seconds and storm clouds start forming on a perfect day.

This girl is so frustrating.

I ran in the directions of the clouds, the knot in my chest loosening as they began dissipating overhead. Hopefully whatever was going on was resolved and I wouldn't have to worry about the stupid girl getting into any more trouble.

Of course, that's how this would go if it weren't for the fact that Kagome was a danger magnet. Silently I cursed myself for ever getting involved with the girl.

I didn't mean it of course. Just the thought of abandoning her now made my stomach want to riot and escape from my skin. I ground my teeth together as I skidded to a halt, studying the scene in front of me.

Kagome had her arms wrapped around a pole for dear life, Miroku was panting heavily, and there was a balding old man sitting on his knees on the dirt ground looking frantic and defeated.

What the hell happened?

Suddenly the balding man wasn't as defeated as he unraveled a scroll and smiled, the storm clouds changing course and thickening overhead once again. The scent of blood and ink was permeating the air as a light drizzle began, soaking my clothes with a thick black substance.

Ink.

Fuck.

"This is the guy we've been looking for?" I yelled over to Miroku as he panted, his face contorted in pain as if his muscles were on fire.

"It would seem so," He responded, forcing himself to stand upright. Kagome's eyes were wide as she looked at me, surprise and something else screaming in her eyes.

"Inuyasha, my bow!" She let go of the pole to run towards me, only to get stopped by a hand wrapping around her ankle.

"Oh no you don't!" The man pulled on her leg, causing her to lose her balance and fall. "I'm taking you back to Centipede and proving once and for all that I'm not useless."

"Like hell you are," I pulled Tetsusaiga from its sheath in time to slice through a half-formed ink monster.

I was greeted with a spray of ink directly to my face.

Everything went black as it became difficult to smell anything other than ink. I wobbled to my left, almost tripping over something on the ground. My brain felt funny as the smell began overpowering my nerves and all I could feel was the static white noise of sleeping limbs.

Even my hearing started freaking out.

Fuck.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

If the look on Inuyasha's face was anything to go by he was down for the count. I did my best to kick myself free from the man's grip as he tried to pull me closer. Miroku was too busy fighting off ink demons with his staff to worry about helping me. I didn't blame him. Some of these drawings looked scary as hell.

I finally managed to free my leg and crawl over to Inuyasha, freeing my bow and quiver of arrows from his shivering mass. I wished I had time to help him but I really didn't. If something was done soon I could very well be back in Centipede's clutches, or worse. I didn't want to think about the worse as the feeling of Yura's hand up my thigh ghosted through my memory. No. I was done being weak.

I scanned the scene, looking for the source of the ink's power. The man had nothing worth noting about him. No, instead my vision was pulled to the ink well attached to his hip. A small smile formed at the edge of my lips as I notched an arrow and pulled the string taunt, waiting for the perfect moment to let it fly.

An ink monster stepped in my line of sight but it was like I could see through it to my goal. I took one more deep breath as I let the arrow loose. Watching it catch the purple aura I had begun to associate with my power brought a little bit of pride to my heart. The arrow glided, unhindered, through the ink monster, effectively tearing it to shreds. It continued to fly through the air until it hit its mark. The ink well glowed purple for a moment until it combusted into harmless, glittering dust.

The ink demons around us stilled, almost frozen in time.

I expected them to turn to dust as well, or maybe just become heaps of ink to splatter on the ground. My hopes were unfounded however, when they began moving once again, converging on the man who once held power over them. He screamed in agony as the ink tore him apart, draining his blood. I stood in horror, my eyes unmoving from the carnage in front of me. The ink writhed and pulsed over the man as his screams continued in my head long after he was nothing more than skin and bone.

I stayed silent for the rest of the night as we camped just outside of town. Miroku was still with us, and it seemed that for the time being he had no intention of leaving.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

A week passed and we were back in Kaede's village. Kagome wouldn't look at me, wouldn't talk to me. Hell, she barely talked to Shippo. Miroku thinks that what happened with the ink summoner shook her up. I knew she was stronger than that.

I also knew Miroku wasn't just sticking around because he 'fancied our company' like he always claimed on the numerous times I asked him to scram. He was like a flea, burrowing into my skin and hitting all my worst nerves. He at least had the common sense to stop flirting with Kagome while she was near catatonic. I mean seriously, she only ate when reminded.

"I see ye've made a new friend Inuyasha," Kaede said, that knowing smile on her face as Miroku walked behind me, his eyes scanning the village for a new girl to feel up.

"He is not a friend. And since when do you care, you old hag."

"You're the closest thing my daughter ever had to a friend. I would like to say I'm not so heartless as to not care about my daughter's friends," Kaede shrugged and turned around, leading our group back to her house. Shippo was sitting on Kagome's shoulder, steadily talking about all of the things he saw on his way here.

According to his current story he only arrived here three days ago and was 'welcome like a king.' Apparently the villagers were worried that I had gotten Kagome killed when she didn't come back after a month. A small smile had crept up in the corner of her lips at the story, but the warmth was gone from her eyes.

I was worried she was going to become like Kikyo.

I was also starting to wonder if what I had been feeling towards Kikyo was even anything close to love. I mean, we had kissed a couple of times and we were always together but Kikyo was always so… distant. Like this moment in front of her wasn't good enough for her attention. She was calculating and cold in battle, doing whatever necessary to win.

Her power is ultimately what mattered to her.

Kagome cared so much about helping people she ran into a burning building to help two girls she didn't even know. Shippo once told me she almost didn't make it back out. This stupid girl was willing to risk her life to help me find Kikyo so that I could be… happy.

I'm not even sure I was ever happy with Kikyo.

All of my memories seem muddled as of late, like everything is foggy.

Our first day back in real civilization and I was so busy trying to bring up the details of traveling with Kikyo that I didn't notice that Kagome was nowhere to be seen.

Later that night my brain supplied that she must just be off telling the village kids stories of our adventure. That seemed like a very Kagome thing to do.

It wasn't until I laid down to sleep that I noticed the folded piece of paper on my pillow. Written in neat handwriting was a letter addressed to me. At first I was confused, seeing as I've never in my life seen handwriting so neat. But as I studied the folded paper, wondering if I should open it or just rest my tired bones something about it jogged a memory.

A memory of Kagome smiling as she bent over a worn journal, reading over the pages written a long time ago. She picked up a pen and began scribbling on a new page, her smile slowly turning into a look of sadness. When she caught me staring at her she simply blushed and said that even though this isn't where she had wanted to be she still wanted to look back on this journey with fondness. I had gotten a decent look at the paper of that journal a million times and now it was staring me right in the face. My eyes ran over the little pink hearts on the corner and my own heart clenched for a moment.

I don't know what I was expecting when I opened the note to read it.

But it wasn't a declaration of surrender.

 _Inuyasha, I know I promised I would help you find Kikyo but I can't keep putting innocent people's lives at risk for my own freedom. I hope you'll understand. This is something I have to do._

 _Thank you for showing me this toxic world isn't all bad._

 _-Kagome H._

XXX

* * *

 **You guys dont know how terrible i feel not being able to update this in so long. ;-; i was without internet! but i've been writing i promise! so youre updates will return to their non-scheduled times!**

 **Also, lemme know how i did!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Kagome**

* * *

I was doing it. My stomach was churning and my chest was tight but I was walking forward with my head held high as I followed the dancing lights in front of me. My hand was gripping my bow tightly, like it was my lifeline. It probably was.

I could feel how close I was to Centipede's hideout. It was getting difficult to breathe.

An image of Inuyasha's determined stance flitted through my mind and I swallowed the lump growing in my throat. I could do this.

A rustling in the bushes behind me caused me to almost jump out of my skin. I turned slowly to find Inuyasha and Miroku behind me, varying degrees of worry and anger on each of their faces. I opened my mouth to speak but the words died in my throat. My mouth kept moving as if there was anything to say. Miroku had a look of understanding.

Inuyasha was furious.

"How stupid are you exactly?"

"I was…"

"If you wanted to come face her head on you should have told me," Inuyasha's eyes were boring into my skin and I was convinced for the first time that he was 100% looking directly at me.

"We're glad to help you out Kagome," Miroku smiled.

"I've done nothing but put others in danger." If it was possible the grip on my bow tightened. "I need to do this on my own."

"Bullshit." Inuyasha's answer was short as he continued moving forward. He looked calm now, but I knew his anger was boiling just beneath the surface. He was always angry. I opened my mouth once again when Miroku placed his hand on my shoulder.

"We're here with you," his voice was steady and reassuring. Inuyasha threw a look over his shoulder.

"You better not get comfortable back there monk." A growl followed Inuyasha's words causing Miroku to sigh.

The two men walked in front of me while I was simply frozen in my tracks. I couldn't take my eyes off their forms.

That's probably why I was the one that got hit. Pain lanced through my side as blood began spilling from a very, _very_ deep wound. Inuyasha spun around instantly as I began falling to my knees. Absently I wondered what caused him to turn. Was it the smell of blood? If I could smell it he definitely could. Maybe it was the weak scream that erupted from my throat as I pulled my hand away and examined the red fluid coating my palm. It was so surreal. I was experiencing all of this first hand and yet it felt like I wasn't even in my own body.

The scene around me moved slowly. Miroku running to my aid as Inuyasha pulled Tetsusaiga from its sheath. Centipede stood nearby, her beautifully painted face filled with anger and hatred. I could almost see the emotions rolling off her in dark waves.

"How dare you show your face here!" Her voice was low but filled with venom.

My body felt numb as I stated at her, unable to focus on the words Miroku was speaking. A smile spread across Centipede's face slowly. Each of her sharp teeth were visibly dripping with actual venom.

"Don't you dare touch her," Inuyasha's voice cut through the thick haze starting to set in. Everything felt so heavy. I opened my mouth to try to tell Miroku to stop shaking me. His hands were gripping into my arms, likely leaving bruises. His face was filled with frantic confusion, but his voice was just static in the background.

I was slowly laid down, my body feeling like it was filled with lead instead of blood and squishy organs.

" _Are you really just going to take this?_ " A voice called to me. It was soft but impatient. " _A priestess does not sit down and allow others to win._ " I wanted to agree, but everything got dark as I closed my eyes. I was tired of the multitude of swirling lights clouding my vision. It was like a rainbow of colors distorting the fight in front of me. I couldn't concentrate on anything.

Even with my eyes closed I could see the bright patches of light floating in my field of vision. I wanted to swat it away.

With the thought my hand moved in front of my face and I could see it… With my eyes closed. I took a deep breath and forced my eyes to open again only to be assaulted by the bright colors of my power. It was fighting against me and it was definitely winning.

" _A priestess never backs down._ " The voice was harder now with its inpatients. I opened my mouth to speak but I still couldn't move. The words came out though, just in a different way.

'I'm not a priestess,' I retorted, my voice bouncing around in my head.

" _Don't lie to yourself. You've purified water filled with radiation. What makes you think you can't clear yourself of this poison?"_ The voice in my head sighed. " _Use your head, girl."_

The colors that were disorienting me dissipated slowly, giving me the chance to see the fight in front of me. Miroku was panting against a tree, scrapes and bruises evident on his face and his clothing was torn in a few places. I was covered in Inuyasha's kimono while he was bleeding from numerous wounds.

Centipede was unharmed. There was a sadistic glint in her eyes that made my blood run cold. She was enjoying every second of their pain.

I took a moment to inventory my wounds. I only had the one cut which must have been how the immobilizing poison got into my veins.

I did my best to concentrate on cleaning my blood of the poison while Centipede began laughing as Inuyasha fell to his knees panting.

"My poison is running through your blood now. Soon you'll all be as paralyzed as the little time traveler and I'll be able to torture you to my hearts content." She flexed the fingers on her middle set of hands, turning them into dagger like appendages. "You'll get what's coming to you for killing off my followers." If I could have moved I would have froze.

A surge of power ran through me as my efforts of clearing my blood doubled.

I may not have done it alone but every single one of Centipede's lackeys fell at my hand. My friends would _not_ be paying the price for my deeds.

Feeling finally returned to my fingers, allowing me to wrap them slowly around my bow. When I could feel my legs and arms I shifted under the kimono so that I would be able to push myself off the ground and aim. Slowly I had taken control over my body again, and Centipede wouldn't know until it was too late.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

Kagome was barely breathing and her vision was way out of focus. Her eyes lazily took in the scene around her. I wasn't sure she even knew what was going on right now. Miroku was keeping the freak with six arms busy while I tried to get Kagome to respond to something. Her body was shaking in between shallow breaths. I shrugged out of my shirt and carefully laid it over her body so that she would be somewhat protected from whatever happened next.

Miroku got smacked into me, causing me to almost lose my balance and fall. I growled and turned around, not prepared for what I saw. He was beaten, badly. Purple bruises and scratches marked his face and his clothes were almost shredded.

"What the hell happened?" I asked as he leaned against me for support.

"She's too powerful for my suppression abilities to work." Miroku wheezed out a cough. "I'm not going to be much help in this one" I ground my teeth together as Centipede began laughing from her spot a few yards away. She didn't look like she was in any kind of rush. In fact she looked really relaxed and that unnerved me.

"Just stay out of the way. I don't need you dead yet," I growled stepped toward the bug bitch with Tetsusaiga held firmly in two hands. Miroku muttered something in response. I took another step towards Centipede, receiving a fit of laughs from her. One of her sets of arms wrapped around her stomach as she doubled over, looking very calm. It was gearing on my nerves.

"You think you're going to do what you're little exorcist friend couldn't?" She looked up at me and like lightning a set of her hands shot out. Sharp nails dug into my chest and a hissing sound could be heard from the wound as I pulled back. My skin was already healing over the wound but something felt wrong. Before I had time to react she lashed out again, this time aiming for my face. I tried jumping out of the way but I felt sluggish. My arms were starting to feel like lead weights.

"You don't have a chance against me," she laughed some more as her attacks became faster and harder to dodge. Every movement I made caused me to become slower. I fell to my knees as her laughing got louder. I really wanted to scream at her to stop. God it was getting on my nerves.

"My poison is running through your blood now. Soon you'll all be as paralyzed as the little time traveler and I'll be able to torture you to my hearts content." Her words paused for a moment as she did something weird with her hands. I tried to pay attention, I really did, but it was getting hard to breathe. "You'll get what's coming to you for killing off my followers."

"They all got what they deserved for going after an innocent girl!" I managed to yell out. It took all of my strength and before I realized it I was laying on the ground with Centipede towering over me, barely contained rage gleaming in her eyes

"They were doing their jobs," she spat at me. There was venom in that too and it burned causing my vision to black out for just a moment. A scream erupted from Centipede and the pressure her foot had in my side disappeared.

I forced my eyes opened to see a single arrow sticking out of her arm. The area around it was glowing purple and green and she was struggling to pull it out of her skin. There were only two people I knew that could cause someone's skin to start disintegrating like that and I thought Kagome was down for the count. My heart did this weird flip thing as I forced my neck to turn in the direction the arrow came from.

Kagome stood there, determination painting her face. With the pale glow of the sun behind her she was outlined in gold; and in that moment I swear she look like an avenging goddess with my shirt draped over her shoulders.

Centipede hissed at her. If she was trying to speak she was failing as her words were cut short with another arrow straight through her chest. She writhed in pain for a moment before exploding into tiny shards of light.

I fell to the ground, exhaustion from the poison in my body finally taking over. The last thing I saw was Kagome's smiling face before the world went black and I was left with only darkness.

* * *

Waking up was hard.

Well that was easy actually. Miroku's yelling did the job pretty well. It was the actual act of getting up off the ground and figuring out where I was and what was going on that was hard. My head felt like it was filled with cotton and my ears were super sensitive, making the yelling all the worse. I wanted to yell back but my throat was sore like I hadn't talked for a while. I sat up slowly, waiting for the earth to stop spinning took longer than I thought. Miroku immediately shut up, his eyes almost as wide as his face.

"You're awake!" He almost squealed like a girl. Almost. He cleared his throat for a moment and puffed out his chest as if he suddenly became a man when Kagome's voice interrupted him.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, stepping into my line of sight. Slowly she crouched down and I had to force my eyes to stay on her face cause her underwear was definitely showing. Gingerly, she placed her hand on my forehead, she looked lost in thought until I finally spoke.

"What the hell happened?" My voice was hoarse and gravely. I didn't like it.

"Centipede's poison knocked you out and gave you a fever. The fever made you sweat out all of the liquids in your body and you wouldn't wake up. I was worried you were gonna die from dehydration." Everything she said was so matter of fact it annoyed me. She picked something up from beside her and set it in my lap. One of her 'special cups' she uses to purify our drinking water sat there staring at me. I didn't want to admit how badly I wanted to chug it down.

I swatted Kagome's hand away and snubbed the water, crossing my arms.

"I'm fine." I growled. Kagome frowned at me and stood up. Without a word she began walking away. Miroku stared at me for a moment before following her.

"If you're so fine then we're leaving," there were hints of anger in her voice as she stomped away. I wanted to apologize.

I really didn't want her mad at me.

I growled at myself as I stared at the water, too proud to drink it. To ashamed to admit that for just a second I thought Kikyo had shot that arrow, and not for the first time.


	25. Chapter 25

**Inuyasha**

* * *

Kagome wasn't talking to me. Again.

Which I guess could be understandable. I mean I know I can be a jerk. But an entire week seems like a little much. Every time I try to apologize it's like the entire village knows and they whisk her away to name her a saint, or applaud her wonderful gardening skills, or give her makeshift awards for keeping the village clean.

It's bullshit.

"Give her time," Shippo said, licking on a lollipop Kagome made from scratch. It looked sticky and too sweet.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I growled, my leg shaking out of agitation. Shippo made a noise. I lifted my hand to smack the lollipop out of his mouth when Miroku cleared his throat.

"You know, maybe you should approach her after her bath today."

"No thanks, I don't want to die," I groaned. For just a split second I remembered what Kagome looks like with her hair dripping wet and a towel pulled tight against her skin and I could feel my face heating up.

"Smart man," Miroku laughed and sat next to me, putting himself between me and the annoying slurping noise coming from Shippo's mouth.

I suddenly had the urge to strangle the little monster. Ever since we got back Kagome's been doting on him like a mother hen to her only chick.

"Maybe it's that time of the month," I muttered, trying to remember what Kikyo was like when I could smell blood coming from her. She use to freak out the first couple of times until I finally learned not to bring it up. But that was when we were younger. She almost always smelled like someone's blood once we got around to actually traveling around.

"Well whatever you do, don't ask Kagome," Miroku made a face and the slurping stopped.

"What time of the month?" Shippo asked, big green eyes trained on me. He looked like a puppy, and for just a second the urge to hit him was lessened.

"That's a discussion for when you're older," Miroku coughed, looking sheepish. I rolled my eyes and went back to staring at the lake in front of us. Kagome was surrounded by the village children. I was actually surprised Shippo was with us and not listening to one of the many stories she told. She called them fairy tales and they're full of knights in shinning armor and 'fearsome' dragons and princesses in distress. They're stupid and the kids can't seem to get enough of them.

"Why aren't you down there with your bratty friends?" I asked, leaning back against the tree for support. Shippo sighed and began licking on his lollipop. The slurping noise was all I could hear until he stopped to sigh again.

"They don't like me because I'm different," his voice was small and broken. My heart clenched as I studied the small kit. Kagome loved him like family and yet he felt like her couldn't be around her because the village kids didn't like that he was different. I wanted to yell at the stupid kids, but when I looked up I could see a worried expression etched into Kagome's features as she walked towards us. At first I thought she was looking at Shippo until her dark honey eyes met mine.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

I don't know what's wrong with me.

I sighed before continuing on with what I could remember of beauty and the beast. The words left my mouth without needing assistance from any higher brain function. It left me some room to think about all of the things bothering me.

Like Inuyasha.

Ever since the Centipede incident I can't look at him without boiling rage threatening to take over. It's impossible to talk to him and even harder to look at him.

Sometimes the voice revisits me, reminding me with venom in every word that he belongs to someone else and that I shouldn't be worried about him. The voice is strong and hard and always accompanied with the dizzying bright lights that threaten an epileptic seizure.

"Miss Kagome," a little girl pipped up, her unruly black hair reminding me of Sota when he would wake up late for school. I couldn't remember her name, but she didn't really give me time to attempt to remember as she delved straight into her question. "Is Inuyasha your prince Adam?" Her dark eyes were huge and round and full of curiosity as my face began heating up. Her question was completely innocent and yet my brain decided to enact the image of Inuyasha and I dancing around a grand ball room.

" _Stop it,"_ the voice in my head commanded, shattering the image and forcing me into a different kind of daze. For just a moment my throat went numb as a smile that wasn't mine spread slowly across my face.

"Why how silly," my voice answered as the little girl continued to stare at me wide eyed. "Inuyasha belongs to Kikyo."

"Who's Kikyo?" A little boy asked, frowning at the information.

"She use to protect this village. And she'll be coming back soon." The voice was mine, but the words felt wrong. Almost like a threat, but not to the children. The lights intensified to the point that I couldn't even make out outlines. Everything was bright and dancing and my head felt like it was spinning. The numbness in my throat and face spread to my body and I felt myself stand. The walk was awkward at first, like my muscles were fighting against the invader controlling my body. I should have been fighting too, but instead I was too busy feeling like my brain was stuffed with cotton to do much of anything.

"That will be all for today children," this time my voice had a hard edge to it as my body continued walking towards the hill Inuyasha and Miroku favored. My heart clenched thinking about seeing Inuyasha and the voice in my head retaliated.

" _Don't be stupid girl,, I'll prove to you that he wants nothing to do with you,"_ The voice echoed in my head as the words flowed through my mouth.

Like some form of sick torment enough of my vision was cleared, allowing me to see Inuyasha, Shippo and Miroku talking at the top of the hill. I wanted to vomit my stomach was tied in so many knots. My body approached slowly and my eyes met with Inuyasha's. I wanted to scream for help, wanted to plead with my eyes that something was wrong and that I wasn't myself, but he simply looked surprised that I was standing near him, let alone making eye contact.

"Hey, Inuyasha," my body clasped my hands behind my back and leaned forward, "mind if we talk alone for a little bit?" My body was rigid as I waited for an answer, anxiety filling me while a foreign sense of calm seemed to exude from my 'captor'.

Could I really call it that? It's not like this was an episode of body snatchers… but at the same time I couldn't help wondering if this is was the fictional people being possessed felt like. Miroku eyed me wearily, something glinting in his dark eyes. Finally a smile spread across his face as he picked Shippo up and stood.

"Don't mind us, we'll just be over at Kaede's place packing up all of the herbs and remedies we'll need once we set out again," He began walking down the hill as Shippo struggled against his hold. My body simply stood frozen in place, my eyes slowly moving from Miroku and Shippo back to Inuyasha. He looked nervous and scared, kind of how I felt. What was this _thing_ going to do.

Who would even want to posses me to get to Inuyasha?

As I tried to make a list Inuyasha stood and ran his fingers through his hair.

"We can go for a walk and talk," his voice was sheepish as pink tinted his cheeks. My body nodded and I followed him down the hill.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

Kagome was acting weird as she walked beside me. She said she wanted to talk and yet all she did was silently herd me. I knew these woods well, and yet she didn't know them at all. Her eyes were trained forward and her shoulders were set like iron. When we passed an old archery stand, covered in vines and crumbling, ice shot through my veins.

I hadn't stepped foot in this forest since Kikyo went missing.

In fact this is where we met.

And the first place we ever kissed.

My face grew red thinking about it as Kagome took the lead. Her footsteps were sure and steady as we stepped over tree roots and under overgrown tree limbs. Everything around us was lush and green, a marvel of the world seeing as everything else was brown and shriveled.

"Someone in the village told me about this really cool spot, I'm glad you decided to walk through the woods. I've wanted to come here with you for a while." Kagome's words were normal and yet there was an edge to her voice.

"Are you okay Kagome?" I asked, nerves taking over my stomach.

"Why would you think I'm not okay?" her voice carried over her shoulder as she continued to walk with purpose. As we neared the spot I was dreading to see she seemed more at ease. Her movements were still rigid, but it looked more natural on her. Before she looked like she had been straining to walk and now it would have been as easy as running is for me.

"Well I mean you've been avoiding me for the past week," I said, keeping my eyes on the tree tops and not on the way her body moved under that silk kimono. It was slit up the side exposing all of that creamy soft skin. Even in her sudden rigidity her body moved in a way that was completely Kagome.

"Oh, I was just thinking of a way to get you to come here with me, and to think of what I wanted to say." Her footsteps slowed as we neared the tree Kikyo and I first met at.

I was expecting uncomfortable flashbacks and pangs in my heart but instead my eyes were trained on the way Kagome turned to face me, her skin speckled from the light falling through the tree leaves. Her big brown eyes stared into mine for a long time, while neither of us spoke. Finally a small smile played on her lips as she took a small step towards me. It was such a small motion but I was filled with anticipation for the next one.

"Well what did you want to talk about?" I asked, taking my own step forward. Granted it was probably much bigger than hers, but I couldn't stand the distance between us. She looked so beautiful in the light and I wanted to be able to admire her up close.

"Us," Her voice was soft and yet it was… off.

I was too mesmerized by the way her honey eyes drew me in to pay attention to the bite in that one word. Like an idiot I stepped forward again and something passed across her face.

"What about us," My voice dropped as she took the smallest step back.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

My 'captor's' plan was backfiring. Inuyasha's deep gold eyes were boring into my own and the longer he stared the looser the hold of my captor grew. I took a small step back as 'she' (I mean I'm assuming it's a she even though I knew I shouldn't) tried to force me forward. It made me look like I was swaying, which Inuyasha decided was a perfectly good reason to close the distance between us and place his warm hands on my shoulders.

"Are you sure you're okay?" his golden eyes were filled with worry and something else as he stared in my eyes.

"I've felt worse," my voice replied as a little smile tugged on the corner of my lips. Inuyasha looked down at them and suddenly I could feel _her_ making a decision. She leaned forward, just a little, as she opened her mouth to talk. "I want to stay here, with you." My voice sounded husky and Inuyasha was eating up every word.

"We can stay here," he answered, causing some of that rage to well up inside of me again. I realized it hadn't been _my_ rage at him fro snubbing my help, it had been _hers_ because I was here and she was not. _She_ didn't like his answers and physical responses. I leaned up a little more, my eyes keeping contact with his.

"I want you," my voice was barely audible. I wasn't even sure the words had escaped my mouth until I watched the way Inuyasha's eyes widened just a fraction before they became hooded and he leaned in the rest of the way, our lips barely touching.

"I do too, Kagome," The way he said the syllables of my name set fire to my blood as he kissed me.

And just like that the lights were gone and I was back in control of my body. For a moment I stood still, not thinking. My body began reacting to Inuyasha's kiss as I stepped forward and deepened it. My brain was fuzzy from the sensory overload of the lights, and now the inviting warmth of Inuyasha's kiss.

And yet still I was attached to the thought of who could have possibly forced me into this situation.

Inuyasha pulled away from me gently, his hooded eyes warm and sparkling. I wanted to lean in for another kiss when an arrow with pure white feathers caught my eye. It looked completely untouched by weather, and yet vines were wrapped around the shaft.

Lights pulsed from the arrow just once and that was all I needed.

"Kikyo," my mouth whispered as I stared at the arrow.

"What?" Inuyasha suddenly looked worried as his hands grasped my shoulders tighter. The power inside of me began building up as I looked in Inuyasha's eyes. It stretched forward as my hand reached out and caressed Inuyasha's face.

"I need you to forget about everything I said today," my voice was strong even though I didn't want him to.

But I needed him to.

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha looked at me skeptically, his fingers digging into my shoulders.

"I need you to forget how I feel about you," I put more power into the words and watched as Inuyasha's sharp golden eyes become glazed over. "I need you to forget." He nodded once and closed his eyes. His hands released me and I stepped out of reach, waiting to see what would happen.

I looked down at my hand that was still warm from the skin contact I had with him. I had made him a promise. And Kikyo deserved to have the man she lost.

I was just an outsider after all.

"Kagome, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I forgive you for being a jerk," I forced a smile as I watched Inuyasha's eyes study my face. "Also I wanted to know more about this place." I lied. But Kikyo had to have brought me here for a reason.

"Oh, well this is where I first met Kikyo when I was little. It was… right after my mom died." Inuyasha turned away from me and studied the tree. "Kikyo wasn't an overly sentimental person, but she use to bring me to this tree before every trip out of the village, so she could give it's spirit thanks for letting us meet." I watched his shoulder stiffen for a moment before he stepped forward. His hand reached out towards the arrow, his fingers trembling.

"What's that," I asked, forcing my voice to stay steady.

I literally just had my first kiss and then managed to erase it from the memory of the guy I kind of can't stop thinking about. I really just want to cry, or scream, or practice shooting my bow.

Instead I was standing here, watching him stare at probably that first thing of Kikyo's he's seen since she disappeared.

"This has some of Kikyo's magic in it. You can use it to find her," There was joy in his voice as he reached for it.

"Then maybe you shouldn't touch it," there was an annoyed edge to my voice as I stomped forward. The tears were becoming difficult to hold back. I pushed past Inuyasha and inspected the arrow. It looked perfect and untouched. I leaned against the tree and reached up, just a few hairs short of reaching it.

"Here, let me help," Inuyasha grunted as he placed his warm hands on my hips and hoisted me up. I forced the scream in my throat to die before it could live and stared at the arrow I was now face to face with. I reached out and let my hands gently wrap around the shaft and was amazed to feel so much power thrumming in the small object.

Keade once told me priestesses and sorceresses could cast spells on objects. Things like protection and purification or even concealment spells. I wanted to know more about this particular spell, but the way Inuyasha's hands were digging into my waist was making me feel both uncomfortable and wishing I hadn't erased his memory.

I ground my teeth together as I adjusted my grip and pulled.

The arrow disintegrated in my hand, but sent a jolt of power through me. My hands and feet became numb as the edges of my vision began acting up once again.

That stupid taunting voice returned, sounding pleased this time.

' _At least you're good for something.'_


	26. Chapter 26

**Kagome**

* * *

I had sobbed to Kaede for hours while Inuyasha, Shippo, and Miroku were at a nearby village looking for work or firewood or women to sleep with. At this point I didn't care.

I told her everything from the weird sensation Shippo's father's magic caused inside of me, to the way my own magic seemed to be boiling under the surface just waiting for a reason to be used again, to finally the voice and me wiping my love confession from Inuyasha's memory. My heart clenched as I relived the kiss and my stomach rolled as I admitted what I did. Kaede sat patiently, listening the entire time until my retelling fell to nothing more than incoherent sobs and nose blows into my handkerchief.

"That was pretty advanced magic for you too pull off at your level. I believe your actions, and magic, were guided by my daughter, Kikyo."

"Well, how can she do that?" I sniffled, before picking up my mostly untouched cup of tea and taking a sip out of it. It was still warm so that was helping with the ice running through my veins at the mention of Kikyo.

"Well when your magic is as strong as Kikyo's you'll be able to do what's called astrail projection. Your soul will be able to leave your body and travel anywhere you wish. If your will and power is strong enough you can possess some people for short periods of time."

"Well that explains that… but what about this weird surge of power I get every time someone mentions Kikyo or the lights buzzing around here stuff?"

"The arrow you touched must have contained a locator spell. It won't exactly take you right to her, but it will react in places she's been recently, on things she owned, and when she's mentioned. I guess she left it there in case she went missing. I wonder why she didn't tell me about it before she left. I could have found her ages ago."

"You don't seem to excited about me being able to find her," I said quietly, staring into my tea.

"I love my daughter very much, but ever since she was a young girl there's been a part of her that's been locked up and out of reach. I'm not sure if Inuyasha ever noticed it with how infatuated he is with her, but it's very difficult for her to get emotional or to show emotions at all."

"Well she seemed pretty pissed when she found out Inuyasha and I were close. So mad that she took over my body to try and prove a point," I huffed my cheeks out and sipped on more of my tea.

"That's very odd indeed. I wonder why she hasn't returned. If she had the power to posses you then she should be able to come home." Kaede rubbed her chin in thought and scowled at the small fire in the hearth. I watched the flames danced and was reminded of how long it's been since I've tried exhausting the magic inside of me to help it grow. It feels like there's so much of it boiling beneath the surface now that I'm not even sure I can exhaust it.

"Don't worry, I made a promise. I'll bring her home to you," I sighed and took another sip of my drink.

"Don't over exert yourself." Kaede stood and patted me on the shoulder before walking off to one of her back rooms. I could hear her rummaging around in the old drawers and boxes before she made the 'Ah-ha' noise and returned to me. In her hand was a necklace that shone bright with dancing lights and pulsed with each step she took.

"This was once a very powerful artifact known as the Shikon no Tama. It once held tremendous magical power until my daughter absorbed it to give her the power to defend this village, much like you absorbed Shippo's father's magic. It's a useless hunk of rock now, but it was something very important to my daughter. She treasured it long after its magic faded. This necklace should work well with that locater spell."

"How will I even know how to use it?" I asked, eyeing the purple gemstone. Kaede smiled her kind grandmotherly smile and walked around me to drape the necklace around my neck. It was warm as it touched my skin, but the sensation faded quickly.

"Because Kikyo treasured this necklace so much a fragment of her essence still clings to it. The spell will be drawn to it and should leave your vision alone for a least a little while."

"How long?"

"Maybe a week, maybe until you find her, maybe until you give up and settle down with Inuyasha." Kaede chuckled as I scowled at her, my face flushing red. "Whatever you do child I bear no ill feelings. My Kikyo is a precious girl, but she has made many choices to bring her where she is. Now the only thing left is for you to choose where you want to go.

* * *

 **Sesshomaru**

* * *

Sesshomaru stood over the pile of dead raiders at his feet and flexed his new hand. His golden eyes scanned the bodies, but found nothing of interest. The setting sun set the sky on fire, painting it as red as the blood soaking into the earth around him. Jaken stood, cowering in the nearby underbrush, not sure if the onslaught had ended. His master was such a powerful demon, and so very fortunate to look so human.

"You made such quick work of them M'lord!" Jaken finally mustered the courage to leave his hiding spot and survey the damage done. Not a single one left breathing. Oh how truly amazing his lord was! "How is that blue demon arm working out? It seems to be very powerful!"

"It's garbage," Sesshomaru sighed and tore the rotting arm away from his flesh. He could feel the decay against his skin and it made his insides crawl. "Go find me a more suitable demon and bring me back his arm. Know that if you don't I will have no choice but to kill you," Sesshomaru's voice was dead as he spoke, stepping over the rotting hand on his way to no where in particular. He was fond of roaming the lands, his lands. All of it was his.

"This is all Inuyasha's fault," Jaken mumbled under his breath as he trudged after his master. The decaying arm twitched as he approached and Jaken was immediately ensnared in it's grasp. As Jaken panicked and fought against the grip of the dead hand he couldn't help but think about his mother's advice and how silly it was for him to refuse it.

"Even if I am to find a new arm It to will become useless after only a few uses," Sesshomaru sighed as he stepped on the arm and its rate of decay increased, allowing Jaken to free himself from its grip.

"A vexing problem, isn't it?" A deep voice called from nothing, startling Jaken almost out of his skin. Jaken's eyes scanned the area until they finally fell on a single white baboon. A terrified shriek left his throat as he scurried behind his master, who seemed undisturbed by its sudden appearance. "If only there were a way to get the Tetsusaiga back from Inuyasha."

"What do you know of my brother and My father's sword?"

"Enough," the baboon said from behind his mask. After closer inspection Jaken realized it wasn't really a baboon at all, but just a man wearing the furs of one. Of course what was hiding behind the mask could have been worse than the blank eyes staring at him now, but he wouldn't want to get the chance to know. This man freaked him out and he wanted his master to have nothing to do with him. "I know enough to over my assistance."

"Who are you and what do you want?" Sesshomaru asked evenly. His face gave nothing away although he was extremely curious as to how his brother may have caused this poor fool trouble. That did seem to be all the whelp was good for.

"I am someone like you, who despises Inuyasha, and just happened to overhear your conversation just now."

Jaken snorted to himself, but was careful not to let him master know. He was very temperamental as of late. This stranger couldn't have just overheard their conversation! Until it showed up they were the only two people in the area.

"Might I suggest you employ this arm?" The baboon held up the severed arm of a human. A mere human arm as an offering to Jaken's beloved master Sesshomaru. Why the gall he had!

"Have you no sense! What good would mere human arm have for my master!" Jaken spoke out against the baboon.

"Yes this arm was once a human's but I've enchanted it to be more than suitable enough for your lords needs," the baboon said, his voice even as if Jaken's outburst meant nothing to him. "Should you choose to employ this arm my enchantments will allow you to wield the Tetsusaiga!"

"You said you despise my brother, do you plan to use me to exact your revenge," Sesshomaru's voice cut through Jaken's concentration as the imp was trying to figure out what kind of demon or monster was hiding under the baboon skins.

"Yes." The answer was simple and yet it filled Jaken with rage.

"How dare you use my master to exact your revenge on that mutt Inuyasha!" Jaken yelled as Sesshomaru spoke calmly through his servant's fervor.

"Sounds interesting. I'll take it."

"You should also take this hive. You might find it quite useful against your brother's companions." Sesshomaru took both the arm and the hive, immediately dumping both in Jaken's hands. Jaken fumbled with the appendage and round orb as his master began walking away. Before he got far, however he turned around and studied the baboon that remained seated in the grass next to the pile of corpses.

"What is your name baboon?"

"Naraku."

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

"So how did the job hunt go, any leads?" I did my best to act calm but my heart was hammering in my chest sitting next to Inuyasha. He frowned as Miroku patted his shoulder.

"I already said I was sorry," the monk said in a defeated voice.

"What happened this time, or do I even wanna know?" I eyed the men suspiciously as their faces turned various shades of red. "Never mind, let's pretend I didn't even ask!" I put my hands up in defeat as Miroku opened his mouth to speak.

"Miroku did manage to find one job, but its on the other side of the mountain doing an exorcism for an old shrine." Shippo piped up as he ate some of the stew Kaede cooked.

"That doesn't sound so bad," I said, looking between the two men. "Besides, we haven't been that way yet, maybe we'll find some leads about Kikyo." As her name escaped my lips the jewel resting under my shirt pulsed with warmth. It almost felt like the vibration of a cellphone and forced the weirdest feeling of nostalgia through me.

I very much wanted to curl up and weep for the days of convenient technology and the internet but I did technically have a job to do.

"I'm sure Miroku used his status as an exorcist to spook some old man into thinking his place was being haunted or targeted so he could get a free nights sleep."

"I did not! There's a good possibility that something is going on there!"

"Well I say we should do it! I mean it's only a three day walk. What else have we got to do?" I stood up and stretched as Inuyasha grumbled something about it being indecent for me to be showing off my midriff I adjusted my sweater top and walked out of Kaede's place to my own so I could collect what supplies I thought would be necessary. Kaede had left her place a while ago to let us 'plan our course of action,' so I was startled when I found her sitting in the middle of my sparse living room.

I really didn't spend a lot of time in the house she gave me, and even when I was in the village we would spend more time at her place than mine. It was most likely because mine was empty and that was kind of sad.

"Are you sure this is what you want child?" She asked. I nodded.

"I may not like it very much but I'm not going to break a promise. Besides, Inuyasha deserves to find what he's been looking for. Who am I to get in the way of that?" I surprised myself with how much I meant what I said, and was a little proud of myself for it.

"Then you should know that the memory spell you cast on Inuyasha may not be very strong. It's possible it could break just with the mere mention of the thought of you two kissing. You must be careful."

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be fine." I said, a little disappointed. Being reminded of the kiss was like driving a knife through my heart while I was on cloud nine.

Maybe it was just because it was my first kiss. I mean, the rest couldn't possibly be that good, right? It only lasted for a second anyway.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

"So, things seem to be better between Kagome and you," Miroku said while wagging his eyebrows at me. I wanted to growl back in response.

"Yeah! I mean before she was all angry but now she's ready to go on a job with us and is even talking to you!" Shippo jumped onto Miroku's shoulder and stared at me with his too-big too-green eyes.

"I don't think so," I scratched my head. "She just said that she forgave me."

"And I was so hoping you guys would kiss!" Shippo groaned as he slid off Miroku's shoulder and onto the floor. I frowned at him, but my stomach tied itself in a knot at just the mention of doing such a thing.

"Now why the hell would I want to kiss a scrawny little thing like her anyway!" I yelled as Shippo and Miroku's faces turned pale.

"Whose scrawny?" Kagome's voice called from behind me and I turned slowly. I was greeted with a look of pure anger as Kaede sighed behind her.

"Not as easy as you thought child," the old hag grumbled as Kagome just shook her head and firmly planted one hand on her hip as the other pointed a finger at me.

"It's really not nice to talk about people's size ya know!" Her voice was so serious and yet her cheeks were dusted with pink and in that moment I couldn't think of a single thing more adorable. Maybe the thought of kissing Kagome wasn't completely terrible but it just wouldn't be right. I crossed my arms and turned my face away from her, closing my eyes so I wouldn't be distracted by the way she looked in her school uniform that she decided should only be worn in the village. It was a good idea seeing as we get into a lot of dangerous situations out in the wasteland and the last thing I need on my conscious is her getting sexually assaulted again.

But was it seriously even legal for skirts to be the short for school? I mean I can see almost her entire leg!

"Well who said we were talking about you anyway!"

"You're stupid," Kagome grumbled as she stomped out of the house and called over her shoulder. "Let's get going or you'll never find your stupid girlfriend." I opened my eyes wide out of shock as Miroku and Shippo grumbled at each other while they followed Kagome out of Kaede's house.

For the life of me I couldn't remember if Kikyo and I ever really decided we were a couple. Or if we did more than occasionally fool around and make out between jobs. My memories were starting to get more and more fuzzy the harder I tried to recall them. Kaede's exasperated sigh finally woke me from my thoughts and I was forced into action as she so kindly pointed out, "the girl is going to leave you behind and travel alone with that lecher of a monk and you're just going to sit here and get lost in your head."

"Shut up you old hag," I groaned as I stood and made me way out of her house and followed the scent of sunshine and lavenders to where Kagome was waiting for me at the entrance to the forest around the village.

* * *

 **So i'm pretty sure i mentioned that i wan't going to use the Shikon jewel but I was trying to figure out a way to make a Kikyo tracker without adding some dumb gizmo so there we go! Anywhoo let me know what you think! I absolutely adore feedback!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Inuyasha**

* * *

The job was boring and I was useless. In fact I was 100% certain that there wasn't even any kind of demon or spirit haunting these people. Kagome followed Miroku around like a puppy, learning all sorts of 'interesting facts' about being an exorcist.

I wanted to puke.

Something about those two being alone for such a long time together really bothered me, but I couldn't exactly put my finger on why. As I watched Shippo follow a butterfly around my mood worsened. The little annoyance refused to stay at the village with Kaede. Something about wanting to spend more time with Kagome and 'keeping her safe'. As if the runt could even do anything. All foxes are good for is their illusion magic.

I sighed and rolled onto my back to look at the ceiling of the plush, expensively lavish, room. I always feel a little sick when I see places like this. It reminds me too much of my mother. I grimaced as the fox kit pounced on my stomach. His big green eyes boring into mine.

"What do you want?' I groaned.

"When's Kagome getting back?" He whined.

"How the hell should I know," I rolled onto my side, effectively causing Shippo to fall onto the floor with an exaggerated 'oomph'.

"Well aren't you worried about leaving her alone with Miroku?"

"She can handle herself," I muttered, keeping my eyes fixated on a painting of a young woman with dead eyes and too long hair. As I wondered if it was older than Kagome or more recent she walked into the room, bumping shoulders with the lecherous monk.

"Oh, it's no bother. I wouldn't mind teaching you," Miroku said in that soft voice he used around women he was interested in. A growl began in the back of my throat, but it quickly died when a voice that wasn't Kagome's answered his statement.

"I've always wanted to learn how to play!" The soft voice answered as a moderately attractive woman followed Miroku through the door. Kagome sighed and took a seat next to me, automatically picking Shippo up and setting him in her lap.

"He doesn't even know how to play an acoustic guitar," she shook her head as she frowned at the monk. He and the woman were too busy undressing each other with their eyes to pay any attention to anyone else in the room.

"Oh and you're saying you can," I prodded at her comment, hoping to get a reaction out of her. It was selfish but I wanted her attention on me for a little while.

"No. I've always been bad with instruments," she frowned as she brought her knees up to her chest. Shippo escaped her grasp to begin chasing the butterfly in the courtyard attached to our too-big room again. "There was a boy in my grade that was really good at it though. He use to play during study hall, all my friends had the biggest crush on him." A small, sad smile found its way to Kagome's lips. She pulled her legs tighter against her chest, balling herself up as tight as she could.

"Well why don't you tell me about them. You never seem to talk about them, so maybe it would do you some good." I offered, feeling obligated to do _something_ to get that horrible look off her face. It was tearing me up inside knowing she was unhappy.

I couldn't bring her dead friends back, but maybe listening to her talk about them would help her let go of the sadness.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

It was the first time since I found Sota's note that I really let myself think about the people I lost. I fiddled with my mass of momentous attached to Buyo's collar as I did. I tried to keep it on me as much as I could manage. Grandpa once told me the charms we hold onto bring us the luck we think we deserve. I may not belong in this world but my family wouldn't want me to give up. They would tell me to push on and move forward.

But I can't just leave them all behind.

I talked about school, exams, walking to McDonald's after a particularly hard day to talk about my friends boyfriends and to get teased about not having one.

I almost talked about Hojo and my stupid crush on him, but thinking about it hurt too much, because it felt a lot like my feelings for Inuyasha.

As I talked the sun began setting and Miroku joined in to listen to my stories, asking questions about school and classes and how grades worked. It was funny to think he was only two years older than I was, and yet we had lived such vastly different lives.

And once I finally finished talking about the past, Miroku decided to ask about my future.

"Well what do you plan on doing once this is all over?" He asked, staring at the fire in the center of the room. I began staring with him, listening to the light snoring of Shippo in my bedroll and the crackling of the flame.

I let the power being pushed down inside of me awaken, playing tricks with the flames to create little dancing creatures that were beginning to look more like demons that humans in my eyes.

"I'm not really sure," I finally answered as I made the scene change to one from 'Romeo and Juliet'. I watched as Romeo professed his undying love for a girl he had only just met. Star crossed lovers, they were called, doomed to love and die. Inuyasha seemed to sit up straighter as I waved my fingers across the fire to dissolve the scene back into ordinary flames. "I never once imagined I would be able to do any of the things I can do. I don't even know what kind of future I could have."

"You could always be someone's wife," Miroku offered. Before I could lay into him for ruining a perfectly serious, touching moment, I was interrupted by Inuyasha's quite, but firm, 'shhh!'

As I turned to ask him what was wrong the rustling in the bushes caught my attention.

Sesshomaru stepped out into the light, looking far more menacing than I last remembered. Although, last time we crossed paths it was but for a mere moment. He apparently had more important things to do that night.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Inuyasha growled as he removed Tetsusaiga from it's sheath.

"I've come to take what should have been mine," his voice was even and void of emotion, but the way his eyes bore into Inuyasha gave me chills. My pendant pulsed against my skin and my vision reacted, causing me to see something wrong in his right arm. He brought his right hand up and cracked his knuckles, making Inuyasha turn stiff.

"Miroku, get the princess out of here," I called as the girl began to whimper behind me. He made a noise of affirmation before dragging her away from our quarters

"How the hell did you get your arm back?" Inuyasha growled, bring Tetsusaiga up into an attack position I've seen him use fifty times.

"A demon named Naraku lent it to me. He simply despises you so much he would employ your own brother in your death."

"Hah! So now you're working for other demons? When did you get this low?"

"It's simply a means to an end little brother. With this hand I will be able to wield Tetsusaiga, and with your own sword I will cut you down."

As they exchanged more heated threats I began shaking, my memory taking me back to cold red eyes and a feeling of helplessness. If Inuyasha wouldn't have broken into the auction thinking I was Kikyo I would have been Naraku's slave.

Centipede might be dead but all of my problems aren't over yet. I wasn't ready to be reminded of that.

I backed away from them as they began wrestling for the sword. I didn't stop moving until my back hit something that spoke.

"Kagome, are you alright?" Miroku walked around me and knelt till he was eye level. "I've never seen you like this before."

I tried to form a real sentence. I really did. But all I could come up with was "Naraku" the same word that kept bouncing around in my head until I felt like I was going to pass out. Miroku's eyes grew wide with the word and he spun around to look at the scene between Sesshomaru and Inuyasha.

"He's not here is he?" Miroku stood and began scanning the area and I shook my head. Of course he wasn't going to hear my head shake back and forth but he must have come to his own conclusion as he slowly flexed his covered hand and stepped towards the fighting, which had devolved into a shouting contest complete with tug of war.

I would have found the situation funny if I could find anything funny.

As Miroku stepped forward Sesshomaru stopped, proving he was the stronger brother by keeping the Tetsusaiga in his hands as Inuyasha continued to try and wrench it from his brother.

"You're the monk he warned me about." Sesshomaru said in the same deadpan voice he used for everything else. "I've a gift for you from Naraku."

"What kind of gift could a worm like him have to give me?" Miroku's voice was all bravado but something about him was shaking. I had to blink a few times to get my vision to set correctly. Sesshomaru answered merely by throwing what looked like a ball into the air. Much unlike a ball, however, a hundred HUGE bugs flew out of it.

I screamed.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

I had to get this sword away from Sesshomaru. I'm not exactly a nice guy but I'm better than my brother the human hater. With a demon sword, fabled to be able to kill a thousand demons with one swing, in his possession human's will cease to exist.

Kagome's scream caused me to lose focus, which was the worst thing that could happen. Sesshomaru yanked the sword from my hand and bitch-slapped me away with the side of the sword. As hundreds of bee-like insects buzzed around us I took a chance to look at Kagome. Her eyes were almost popping out of her head as she began crawling away from the bugs and towards her bow and arrow.

Vaguely I remembered Sesshomaru saying something about Naraku, but at the time I was too freaked about the fact that he had his other arm back. Now that I had a real chance to look at it, it didn't look demonic at all. Maybe the human that previously possessed the arm had some sort of magic in him, but essentially the arm was human.

And that's what Sesshomaru needed to wield my father's sword.

"Now Inuyasha, any last words before I cut you apart with the Windscar?"

"Windscar?" my ears perked up and I cocked my head to the side. "What the hell is that?"

"You mean you've been wielding our father's sword and yet you don't even know what the windscar is?" Sesshomaru almost had an emotion cross his face other than anger. It almost looked like he was shocked, but then the anger took over. I rolled my eyes.

"What of it?"

"I cannot believe our father entrusted such a powerful sword in the hands an idiot such as you." Sesshomaru's grip tightened on the sword as his human arm began to burn with the contact. I could feel his demonic energies stirring as he brought the sword above his head. "You will die by my hand and be erased from our family tree like the eyesore you are!"

"Hold it right there!" Kagome yelled, her voice strong and sure. I didn't have time to look over my shoulder as an arrow flew passed my head and landed in the ground right before Sesshomaru. He averted he gaze to stare at the girl and worry boiled up inside of me.

"You're that human girl he was with… Kikyo," he growled the name, until his face was covered with a quizzical look. "No, you're different. She was stronger."

"I may be weak but my next arrow won't miss," I could hear her notch another arrow and take aim. My heart was pounding as a sadistic smile played on my brother's lips.

"Miroku, get Kagome out of here," I yelled over the buzzing bees. It was too late, however, and Kagome let the arrow go. It broke the armor over Sesshomaru's borrowed arm and made contact, giving off a blinding bright light.

I was lost in that light for a moment, and wasn't prepared for what was coming next. Sesshomaru sprang forward, dropping both the Tetsusaiga and his now burning arm. Instead he attacked with his poison whip, letting it latch around my wrist before dragging me forward. In a fluid motion his whip was gone and his hand was wrapped around my throat, poison from his claws digging into my skin.

"You have a knack for attracting very annoying and bothersome women." Sesshomaru ground out, "If you're not careful one of these days you'll watch as I ripped her heart out." He let me fall as Kagome notched another arrow, her errant heartbeat buzzing in my ears. Everything was starting to get fuzzy as I felt more poison sting my cheek. I fell to the ground, my vision blurring and my own heartbeat picking up.

I could feel the power of Kagome's arrow as it flew by me. I could hear Sesshomaru's vague threat as Kagome grabbed the Tetsusaiga before he could.

As I lay there, suffering from a poison induced headache and blurry vision I swear I saw Kikyo standing over Kagome, eyes full of anger. Her expression didn't change as she turned to face me, her features sharper than anything else in the entire world. Mumbled words reached my ears in what I was assuming was Miroku's voice.

But the only thing I heard was Kikyo.

"She won't get you in the end, my dearest Inuyasha. You belong to me."

* * *

 **So life has been hell and I'm really sorry. My house got broken into and my depression is slowly eating me alive. I don't do anything anymore except work and sleep. I had big plans for an epic fight scene between these two brothers but i let myself down, and I feel like I probably let you guys down too. I'm going to finish this story, don't worry. It just might take me longer than I originally planned.**

 **Sorry guys.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Kagome**

* * *

Inuyasha had been acting distant, which was both relieving and unsettling. It was easier to keep myself from thinking about the kiss we had shared what felt like ages ago while he was in an over-all agitated and un-talkative mood. It was also extremely difficult not to worry about him as he mumbled angrily to himself while staring at a rather large rock.

He wouldn't take my assistance when it came to healing the poison he took on after his fight with his brother, though one really couldn't consider that a real fight as it was rather anticlimactic. Instead it was more like a slightly heated argument with fists and a lot of cursing was done when Sesshomaru took his leave.

I was disappointed in the way I had handled everything, including the giant insects. I had seen them before, in honesty they seemed rather harmless. You know, except for the giant pointed stingers that were attached to their thorax.

Miroku had explained that the bugs, Saimyosho, were incredibly poisonous to him in particular. I realized that Miroku didn't know all too much about what had happened my first few days after waking up in this irradiated mess of a world, and that I didn't know much about him in general. As I thought back to the unlikely way we became friends I couldn't help but remember the incredulous look Inuyasha had given me when I had proposed the alliance, or his over-all attitude towards Miroku once the exorcist decided to join our absentminded wanderings of the wasteland.

I sighed, deciding it would be a good idea to just lean up against a rather large boulder and focus on the mutated fish swimming in the irradiated water nearby. I wouldn't be able to cleanse the river of it's radiation without first finding it's source.

A groan escaped Inuyasha as he punched the rock he had been staring at, his face still showing the now fading marks his brother left in the wake of the short ambush. Not much was accomplished by Sesshomaru as the human arm he acquired was left to burn in the castle courtyard attached to our room. Since no one could sleep after the incident we left the small castle behind us and I followed the faint glimmer of energy that passed by my vision.

No one complained about our direction or asked our next destination, and now here we were, sitting close to a faintly glowing river, exhausted and ready to sleep.

"I'm going for a walk," Inuyasha announced, tucking Tetsusaiga back into the sash of his Kimono. How it didn't reek of sweat and blood I couldn't figure out since I have only seen it washed once, and that was when I had done it myself.

I opened my mouth to stop him but the words didn't form. Instead I closed it quickly with an audibly snap and watched as he stormed off, still muttering incoherently to himself.

"Give him time," Miroku offered, his dark eyes studying me. I nodded and decided that was probably best.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

My mind kept racing back to the faint image of Kikyo I had witnessed hovering behind Kagome. Her eyes had been full of fire and anger, and she was gone as quickly as she had appeared. The words she spoke, however, stuck with me as I stomped around the corner.

' _She won't get you in the end, my dearest Inuyasha. You belong to me._ '

I was feeling fidgety and upset at everything that moved. Shippo wouldn't even come near me because of the way I had screamed at him after the fight with Sesshomaru.

Kagome had tried to heal me, but I couldn't handle being near her, I couldn't dare look into those innocent brown eyes while picturing how cold they could turn. She was so much like Kikyo and yet so different it was baffling.

I wanted to chalk it all up to nothing more than confusion due to all of the poison still in my system, but that was too easy of an answer.

I growled as my fist made contact with a rock, immediately regretting it for the second time. My knuckles were throbbing and I was more than pissed off to begin with.

Laughter like a bell reached my ears and I turned, watching as a group of young girls picking wild flowers at the top of the unusually grassy green hill. Vaguely I remembered a place like this. Kikyo had been here, erasing the radiation from the soil so plants could grow once again. Girls younger than these had danced around then, too. Everything was so much simpler back then.

All I had to do was protect a girl that didn't need protecting. I followed her around aimlessly, watching as she helped people with a kind smile on her face that didn't seem to really make her eyes sparkle. All the memories that had once seemed so fuzzy and hard to recall were back in stunning clarity, and I wasn't sure I liked it.

Everything seemed darker now. Our journey took us to many places like this. Kikyo would help until her energy was drained, growing stronger with every good deed she did. Unlike Kagome, who did good deeds because she couldn't stop herself from being so fucking nice to everyone, Kikyo did them for the power she gained. Kaede once told me there was something dark deep within her daughters heart, something she had been unable to reach. It was a possessiveness that drive Kikyo to seek out power, and it had started with the Skikon no Tama. The Jewel of Four Souls had been an ancient thing, locked up for hundreds and hundreds of years before the war that shattered the world. It came into Kikyo's possession by way of demon hunters who were unable to keep the power in the jewel contained. Something in this radioactive world awakened the long dead power of the jewel.

Kikyo took the power inside of herself, much like Kagome had done with Shippo's father's remaining magic. It had made her exponentially stronger at the very young age of twelve.

I frowned at myself, a little ashamed that I sometimes listen in on conversations Kagome and Kaede have in private. I shouldn't, and I know I shouldn't, but I can't help but hope that she mentions me in some way other than 'Inuyasha did the stupidest thing' or 'Inuyasha doesn't even think I can help.'

I growled at myself, my mood worsening as my thoughts continued. What am I even doing anymore? Ghosting images of Kikyo passed through my mind as vivid as the grass blowing in the wind at my feet. She was strong, that much was always certain, but she was distant and cold. Her eyes were always calculating, her voice even and still, like an unchanging pool.

She and Kagome were nothing alike.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

The warmth radiating from the Shikon no Tama was increasing as I followed the path Inuyasha took, worry suddenly taking hold of me. It was a weird feeling, almost like wistfulness as I thought about Kikyo being here. I wouldn't feel the need to travel with Inuyasha any longer since his journey would, more or less, be over. I could go home and simply live out my days as a priestess with Kaede.

Miroku's question about my future made me pause before I could make it over a lush green hill. The sounds of children's laughter took over my senses and I was awash with questions for myself. What did I want for my future? I had never really given it a whole lot of thought. I never wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer or any of the professions that seemed to enrapture all of my friends. They were in special classes for their majors and yet I had still been in general studies as a sophomore in high school. It wasn't unheard of for high-schoolers to remain in general studies classes until even their junior year, but it was rare.

I thought about having children, of being a housewife, of really just leading a quite and relatively peaceful life at the village with Kaede, but even that didn't quite sit well with me. It was a nice thing to look forward to for a while, something quite and safe, but it wasn't what I wanted to _do_ with the rest of the time I had on this planet.

I shook my head, deciding now wasn't the time for me to be worrying about myself. Kikyo could be nearby and Inuyasha would want to know about it. Even if I didn't really want to talk to him or deal with his cranky attitude he deserved to know that she could be close. And if not her than at least a clue.

As I finally made it to the crest of the hill I was granted with an unusually rare sight. Inuyasha was leaning against a tree, his arms crossed, and his face completely relaxed. He only looked like this when he was sleeping, and that was a rare thing as of late. He would usually fall asleep well after everyone and wake up well before. As I studied him a prickling sensation began in my eyes and suddenly I wasn't standing on a grassy hill covered in tiny yellow wild flowers., instead it was as if my body was standing in the middle of a dense forest, a large tree behind me. A sleeping Inuyasha leaned against a tree across from me, but he wasn't in clear focus. In fact, most everything around me was blurry, like it had been stopped while moving. And yet things weren't frozen. Little orbs of light like dancing fireflies lit the dark area of the forest. Slowly an image began to focus in front of me. A woman whose face I was beginning to see more and more of as I looked at my own reflection was leaning over Inuyasha, her long black hair falling over her shoulder as she bent down to cup his face in her hands. His eyes opened and a smile stretched across his face as she whispered something to him. I tried to turn away but I was frozen in place, my eyes wide as Inuyasha's face leaned up to hers, his smile sparkling in his hooded eyes.

I could no longer see Kikyo's face, but I could see the way Inuyasha's hands groped her waist as he pulled himself up into a standing position. Their kisses were casual and comfortable as they both leaned back to smile at each other.

Once the kiss was done I was finally able to look away, my chest felt like it was being constricted and it was difficult to try and remember how to breathe.

As I looked away another Kikyo looked at me, she was in clear focus in comparison to everything around me that seemed to almost pulsate with a low glow.

"He was mine far before you came into the picture," Kikyo's words were venomous.

"I get it." My tone was defeated as I kept my eyes down. Due to this I didn't see the look that passed over Kikyo's face. I did see the way she shifted her weight between her feet. I wasn't sure where I was or what was happening, but I really just wanted to go back.

All the way back. I wanted to go so far back that I had somehow managed to stop the world from ending so that all I had to worry about was math tests and whether or not Hojo liked me back.

"Good," Kikyo's hard voice invaded my ears. It sounded very final.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

Memories of a kiss shared what felt like eons ago stirred to the top of my mind as I began to remember. And oh boy did I remember.

Kissing Kikyo had always felt other-worldly. At least the fuzzy memories I had clung to over the last three years had. Now a grimace took over my face as I replayed this particular moment in my mind. It was late and the pyro-flies were mating like crazy causing clumps of the things to hover around the forest, casting a low grade white light to be cast just about everywhere. I was tired and had just fallen asleep when something at the back of my head called out to me. I had opened my eyes to Kikyo and something deep inside of me took over. It felt like I was on autopilot as our lips mashed together in an almost uncomfortable way.

It felt like I was a possession under her grasp, but I couldn't pull away, couldn't fight the pull of her as my hands bunched into her clothes and I slowly pulled myself up.

There was nothing I could do against her even if I wanted to. At the time this was happiness for me. I was close to someone, I had felt needed by her in a way no one else had ever dared to need me. But there was no real emotion in her kiss, or in the way we would touch. As the memory played out I slowly fell into unconsciousness, grateful for the little bit of rest I was going to receive until someone needed me.

* * *

The dream started off differently than most others I remember. The forest around us was green, a familiar green that surrounded Kaede's small peaceful village. Kagome stood before me, swaying gently back and forth. Her usually bright eyes seemed to be clouded with indecision as I took a step forward. Her swaying continued and I placed my hands on her shoulders, steadying her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" my voice was laced with concern like it should have been. Her eyes seemed to snap into focus as she looked at me, whatever internal war she was waging subsided.

"I've felt worse," A blush rose to her cheeks as her lips turned up into a small smile. I couldn't take my eyes off those lips. She used them for so many different expressions, but my favorite was her smile. I was caught staring and she leaned forward, just a little, her deep honey eyes drawing my eyes away from the slow smirk drawing across her face. "I want to stay here, with you," she said in a low voice that pulled at something inside of me. My doubts about finding Kikyo vanished with her words. There had been an attraction to this small girl that I couldn't deny since the moment I laid eyes on her. What I had first attributed to Kikyo was now all Kagome. Dark hair, deep brown eyes and long legs for days seemed to be the only thing running through my mind while near her.

"We can stay here," I answered softly, looking into her eyes for some kind of reaction. There was a fire I attributed to lust blazing back at me. She leaned closer to me, her eyes never leaving mine.

"I want you," the words were a whispered prayer and I couldn't help the thumping of my heart as her eyes seemed to soften. My wide eyes focused on her once again and her odd reactions were forgotten as I leaned the rest of the way, our lips just barely brushing together.

"I do too Kagome," I didn't wait for a reaction as I finally let my lips capture hers. It was like heaven, kissing Kagome. Everything was warm and comfortable. I could give up my obsession with finding Kikyo for this.

* * *

A light tap on my shoulder woke me suddenly from one of the best dreams I ever had. It was so vivid it was hard to tell if it was a dream or not. Kagome's face was close to mine, her teeth worrying her bottom lip as her head was surrounded by a halo of light. My heart began racing as my eyes fell to the Shikon no Tama around her neck, dangling just in front of the folds of her sky blue kimono. She looked beautiful and I wanted to reach my hand out to feel the soft skin of her face.

Instead I just stared into her honey eyes, something bubbling up inside of me. It was nerves and wants and all sorts of things I shouldn't be feeling.

"I think Kikyo's close by," her voice was full of worry as she leaned back, standing in front of the light from the sun. She shimmered in gold and it was almost impossible to take my eyes off of her.

"Let's go then," I breathed as she turned away, a tiredness to her that I felt partially responsible for since she hadn't gotten any sleep last night. "Actually," I called while standing, my eyes studying her as she turned slowly. "I think I'll go look myself. Why don't you get some sleep, I'll let you know if I found anything." She nodded once and then she was gone, back down the hill to where Shippo was calling her name.

The sooner I find Kikyo the sooner I can get over _her_.


	29. Chapter 29

**Inuyasha**

* * *

The dream had me riled up, uncertain of if it was real or not. It had felt more real than anything else I've experienced in the last few years but… how could that be? I sniffed around, looking for signs of Kikyo. Kagome seemed sure that something was nearby, so it had to be true.

I kept my eyes straight ahead, forcing myself not to look back at the girl trudging down the hill towards Shippo. She looks so worn out and exhausted recently, like there's no such thing as enough sleep. Maybe I should call all of this off and just force her to go back to the village.

'Quit flip flopping,' my brain scolded. 'Pick one girl, or get neither.' I sighed. If I kept on this trail to finding Kikyo I should simply leave any thoughts of Kagome aside. Besides, the monk seems to be taking to her well enough. He may be a lecher but Kagome's strong willed. She can easily put him in his place. Maybe I should just leave those two alone so they can figure out if that's what they want.

I growled at myself as a woman passed me. She paused, her dark eyes glaring at me until a smile spread across her face.

"Might you be Inuyasha?" her voice was low and dangerous, but I nodded anyway.

"Whose asking?"

"You will pay for what you've done!" She yelled out, jumping away from me and pulling a giant _boomerang_ off her back, brandishing it like a weapon.

"What the hell did I do?" I yelled at her as her steely gaze never left my face.

"You killed my father and brother and destroyed everyone in my village!" She yelled out in anger, holding the impossibly heavy weapon above her head. She was obviously stronger than she looked, leading me to the conclusion that she must have more powers or even greater strength hidden inside of her. She might even be a demon herself.

"I don't know what you're talking about! I've been too busy to bother with destroying villages."

"You lie!" She roared, throwing the boomerang. "Hiraikotsu!" Her voice seemed to echo as her weapon flew towards me. I turned tail and ran, the boomerang connecting with my shoulder blade, dislocating it. I fell, sprawling to the floor. I could smell blood, but it wasn't mine. With a grunt I pushed my shoulder back into place, hissing through my teeth at the pain.

I turned slowly to face the girl, taking in her wheezing breaths and her arm clutching at her side. The smell of death was clinging to her. She wasn't going to live for much longer, not in her condition.

"I will avenge my family!" She ground out the words as she stared at me. She was determined, that was obvious, but she won't be breathing much longer with that would on her side. I had two choices, let her die and continue on my way, or have Kagome heal the girl so that I can figure out whose been using my name to cause such a girl to seek me out in the first place. I groaned, tired of always playing the good guy.

* * *

 **Miroku**

* * *

He had never seen such a beautiful girl in his entire life. Miroku was determined to learn the girls name as Inuyasha set her down next to Kagome. The priestess went to work immediately, though it was obvious she was exhausted from getting no sleep the night before. Kagome worked tirelessly on the sleeping girl, never once asking any questions. There was a determined set to her jaw as her brow began breaking out into a sweat that Shippo quickly wiped away.

Her ability over her powers, even while being sleep deprived was amazing, and Miroku couldn't have admired her more if he had tried. There was a deep gash in the unknown girl's shoulder that Kagome quickly began healing, the skin knitting together under her steady hands. It was slow as Kagome was tired and emotionally warn from the episode the night before, but she was steady in her progress.

With that wound healed and the threat to the girl's life lessened Kagome moved on to the darkening bruise on her side.

"Shouldn't she be fine now?" Inuyasha asked from his seat next to the fire. He wouldn't admit it, but Miroku knew Inuyasha enjoyed watching Kagome work.

"No, a bruise this big means there are multiple bleeds under her skin. Even if the blood doesn't get out it's not going where it's suppose to. She can still die from internal injuries."

"Wow Kagome, where did you learn all that stuff?" Shippo was watching the girl intently as a blush rose to the apples of her cheeks. She was truly beautiful and smart. Inuyasha would be a fool not to see it.

"Oh, I uh… I use to watch a lot of doctor shows on t.v. and I took a general health class in high school." She looked embarrassed as she poked at the girl's stomach. Then her face turned to a look of concern as she concentrated her fingers in the girls skin, her brown eyes glowing brightly like solidified amber as she continued to work. Miroku pondered what the girl might be seeing. Maybe a network of veins and arteries that need to be repaired? How would the girl know which to connect to what? She seems so sure of her movements, and Miroku was jealous for a moment of the power she commanded. So similar to that of his late father's.

Kagome worked in silence until the sun set, healing cuts and bruises, causing the broken, almost dead girl in front of her to glow bright and fresh. By the time night fell Kagome was panting and drained, her skin looking pale and her bright eyes dark and hooded. Shippo stayed in her lap, protective and concerned while Inuyasha cooked a stew over the fire and kept a protective eye on the young priestess and a watchful one on the young girl.

Miroku on the other hand, couldn't keep his eyes off of the sleeping woman, unable to think of a single woman whose beauty could surpass hers. Her skin was lightly tanned, with dark pink powder covering her eye lids. Her lips had the slightest hint of light pink, like the petals of a flower and Miroku was sure that if he was to reach out and touch the small bump of flesh it would feel just as velvety.

As the monk was reaching out towards the girl her eyelids shot open and she took a deep gasp of air as if she couldn't get enough of it.

"You're awake," Kagome's voice fluttered over to them quietly. She was doing her best to keep herself awake and Miroku was amazed that she could even still talk. Shippo was busy patting the girl's arm, making sure the young priestess was okay.

"Where am I?" the mystery girl spoke and her voice was literal music to Miroku's ears.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

It was obvious Miroku was enamored with the girl whom attacked me. She wasn't unattractive by any regard, but she was dangerous and I had the feeling that once Miroku realized that he wouldn't be after her any longer. But for the moment it took the monk's attention away from Kagome and that was good enough for me.

"After you tried to kill me I decided to bring you back to my camp to have Kagome look after your wounds." I stared at the girl as her wide eyes quickly narrowed on me. I stirred the stew once more, careful not to let anything stick to the bottom of the pot. "I have some questions for you."

"I will answer nothing from a lying demon who preys on children and the elderly!"

"When did this happen?" Miroku asked, his eyes never wavering from the girl

"Two days ago," the girl's voice was filled with anger and malice as she answered, her eyes bolting to Miroku's face for just a moment before returning to my own.

"Inuyasha couldn't have done it," Kagome's voice was sleepy as she sat up a little straighter, forcing her eyes open

"And how would you know that?" The girl ground out. Kagome sighed and set Shippo down to rummage through her bag.

"What is she doing?" the girl asked to no one in particular. Once Kagome was done she pulled out her notebook and turned through the pages.

"Since I've woken up I've gone back and written on every day since. I don't know the date or even the day of the week so I've been numbering them. Today is day 66." Kagome flipped two days back and handed the journal to the girl. She stared at the neat handwriting on the page in confusion.

"I don't know how to read," she said with a few blinks. Kagome gave a faint nod before turning the book back around and clearing her throat of the sleep.

"Inuyasha and Miroku argued over the last piece of fish until noon when we entered a village. Even after buying more food the two wouldn't stop arguing so when we made our way to the camp I created a barrier between the two idiots so they would finally be quiet. Unfortunately Miroku broke my barrier and continued the argument until sun down when I had finally had enough and stormed off into the woods. Inuyasha ran after me immediately with Shippo not far behind him." Kagome sat back against the tree, her tired eyes waiting. "He never left my sight for longer than a few moments, and that wouldn't have been enough time for him to travel very far."

"How can I trust this? I don't even know if what you're saying is what's written!"

"I would teach you if I had time." Kagome yawned and I began getting irritated.

"Listen, you either believe her or you don't, but I didn't kill any old people or children."

"Yeah! Inuyasha's too much of a push over for that!" Shippo piped up and I hit him in the head to silence him.

"Who would tell you such tale?" Miroku asked, his eyes clouded by thought.

"Naraku, the master of the castle I have most recently visited. He hired the demon exterminators. We were called to kill a rather large spider demon when it was found that the Lord of the castle was in fact being controlled by the real demon, a shadow spider."

"Those are fairly tricky demons, they usually call other demons in order to draw attention away from themselves." Miroku was giving another one of his lessons to Kagome but she wasn't listening. Her light snores could be heard over the crackling fire. I sighed and stood, the girl busy in thought as I got out Kagome's furs and nestled her into a small nest of blankets. The air was beginning to get colder at night and in a few months this area would be blanketed in snow. We weren't sure how long we were going to be gone this time so Kagome packed what she thought she would need.

"I lost my father and brother in the battle at the castle." The girl's voice trembled. Miroku could deal with her, he is a sucker for teary eyes and sad stories. Or was that the girls he chases after? I grumbled as I couldn't remember which. Kagome made a contented sigh as I finally pulled the blanket up to her shoulders and she smiled.

"Kagome can get comfortable anywhere huh?" Shippo asked as Miroku and the girl spoke softly to each other.

"She wasn't always like this. After a month or so of sleeping on the forest floor she finally got use to it."

"Inuyasha," Miroku called to me and I turned around. "Sango her has agreed to help us find Naraku in order to get to the bottom of this."

"He bought Kagome at an auction after she woke up in this world."

"Is that why she reacted that way when your brother mentioned his name?"

"Probably. That Centipede bitch had been the one to sell her and was probably humiliated when Kagome escaped. She sent her people after Kagome until…"

"I remember the rest." Miroku sighed. "We can't just leave her behind. She'll find us one way or another."

"We can't exactly ask her to go either," I grumbled and crossed my arms, watching the girl sleep.

"What are you gonna do?" Shippo asked, His green eyes nervous.

"I have no clue," I answered honestly, sighing.

"We can return to my village tomorrow and make plans there," Sango offered and we all nodded, deciding now was a good time to rest.


	30. Chapter 30

**Kagome**

* * *

I awoke in an unfamiliar place, but this wasn't a very rare thing the past couple weeks. Whenever Inuyasha gets too antsy in a spot he has Miroku and Shippo pack up the camp and he carries me on my back while I sleep. He likes to get upset about the fact that I'm a heavy sleeper and that anyone could cart me away.

I keep pointing out the fact that he's not and if anyone tries I'm sure he would do something. He does need my talents after all. It seems they haven't been very useful recently. He didn't even find Kikyo yesterday. Just some girl who tried to kill him.

I yawned as I sat up, feeling well rested for the first time in days. There were four walls and a roof over my head, and for a moment I thought I had woken up back I'm Kaede's village. But that wouldn't be right. Not unless I slept for four days. I groaned as I stood, looking around for the bag with my clean clothes in it so I could take advantage of this momentary privacy. I switched out my green Kimono for a blue one covered in butterflies and tied it tightly around my waist. My hair was getting longer and was beginning to get on my nerves as I blew it out of my face. I almost wish I had time to get a haircut.

Do they even have barbers in this future? Or do you cut your hair yourself? As I pondered the question I left the house and began looking around for my friends. The town was surrounded by a large wooden wall and made up of old houses from my time and wooden shacks like the one I woke up in. It was an interesting mix of old and newish. As I walked around it became painfully obvious that it was too quiet. There was no one around and I was starting to worry I was left behind.

That's when I saw the plumes of smoke rising over one of the buildings. Without another thought I ran towards it while letting my power stretch outward so that I could be prepared for an attack. I couldn't sense anything near me, but when I looked around the corner I lost my concentration and the magic snapped back at me like a rubber band. Inuyasha, Miroku, and the girl I had healed last night were standing around a large pyre filled with broken pieces of wood and demon parts. The smell was enough to make me want to wretch, but the fact that they had allowed _Shippo_ to stand there and watch had my blood boiling.

"What are you doing!" I yelled out as I made my way towards them. The girl and Miroku didn't seem fazed by my interruption, but at least Inuyasha had the decency to look ashamed. "He's a child, he shouldn't be here to see this!"

"He lives in the wasteland doesn't he?" The girl asked Miroku who simply muttered back something along the lines of 'just listen.'

"He's only six years old!" I yelled out.

"Kagome," Inuyasha's voice growled out and I turned on him, not surprised when he flinched. "Th-things are a lot different from when you grew up," his words were slurred together quickly between stammers and I had half a mind to.. to... I wasn't sure what I could do to him, but it would be painful!

"That doesn't mean you let a six year old see things like this!" I narrowed my eyes at him and then focused on the fox kit in question. "And you! What are you doing out here?"

"I was helping with the graves." Shippo looked down at his feet at that's when I spun around, noticing for the first time the neat row of overturned earth. As they were now you wouldn't be able to tell if they were meant to be graves or simply freshly tilled earth ready for seeds. I sighed once before looking at Inuyasha evenly, my anger slowly leaving my system.

"You keep him away from things like this. If I can help it I want to keep him from getting the same nightmares I have." Inuyasha nodded once before studying the ground very intently. I decided not to bother with Miroku and the girl. One look at her told me she was almost all the way healed up and wouldn't need any more assistance from me unless she ended up with new injuries. "Come on Shippo, we've got some things to do." I turned around in a fluid motion and began making my way around the village, looking for things that could be used for grave markers. My grandfather once told me the soul's of the dead find peace faster after their funeral, but without proper markers a real funeral can't be held. I may not have put much stock into his words as a kid but in this world where myths and demons run free I can't help but think that any small thing I can do to help the people who lost their lives would be appreciated.

"What are we doing Kagome?" Shippo asked as he followed me out of the towns gate, sounding a bit nervous. I turned back at him to smile and visibly his nerves seemed to ebb away.

"We're going to do for them what we did for your dad."

"But we already buried them," Shippo looked confused as I began picking up rocks. They were smooth on one side and rough on the other, perfect for decorating or stacking. I began picking up as many as I could find. There were a vairety of colors and sizes, reminding me of the colorful glass pebbles placed on the bottoms of fish-tanks.

"We also gave your father a funeral and marked his grave with stones. These people deserve that too." As I spoke I allowed my vision to give me more information on the stones. They were glimmering with untapped magic inside of them, letting me know that should they be blessed they would ward away anything trying to desecrate the graves. With enough practice I could probably turn them into protection talismans for when my power is drained.

"So we need these stone?" Shippo asked as he watched me.

"Anything can be used as a grave marker, but these stones will hold some of my power in them. I can use that to keep the bones safe from feral dogs trying to dig them up." Shippo nodded and began picking them up, holding as many as he could before his arms were over-flowing.

"Should we come back with a basket?" Shippo asked as we walked back into the village. Miroku and Inuyasha were nowhere to be seen, but the smoke billowing from the pyre remained.

"Yes, but we should collect other things too, like flowers." I spoke softly, a little lost in thought. My mind brought me back to my mother's bones in our old house, as well as my grandpa. They should get a burial too.

* * *

Shippo and I spent most of the day collecting things to properly mark the graves. We found more rocks of various colors and Shippo found patches of wild flowers growing in rays of sunshine falling through the leaves of trees in the forest near the village. As I wondered what type of place this use to be before the attack, and even before the war, I felt a little better knowing we were doing something to help the soul's of the people who had died.

"Kagome," Shippo's voice reached me as we tied flowers together with pieces of ribbon found in one of the houses.

"Hmm?" I hummed back, keeping my fingers busy so my mind wouldn't wander again.

"You're not going to leave me behind like my papa did, are you?" Shippo kept tying flowers together as I froze, my eyes going wide as I took in the small boy. I wasn't sure if it was because he was a fox demon or if he was simply smaller than he should have been, but in that moment he looked so tiny and fragile. I _knew_ they shouldn't have let him see the pyre. They probably let him bury the dead too.

"One day, Shippo, we all fade away," I began reciting what my grandpa had told me when I had asked a similar question after my grandmother died. "It's the natural way of life. We live and we breathe, but in the end we must give our lives back to the planet we were born from. That way new life can take our place." My fingers began working again as I tried to remember what else my grandpa said.

"So you are going to leave me?" Shippo sounded so sad as the words tumbled from his mouth and tears began forming in his large green eyes. I set my bundle of flowers down and moved closer to the boy, pulling him into my lap.

"I will do everything in my power to stay with you for as long as you need me," I murmured in his ears as I began rocking him back and forth. I picked up one of the stones we had found, it was a pretty green color reminding me of grassy prairies and Shippo's ever curious eyes. "If you ever need me wish upon this stone and I will come to you," my voice was sing-song like and I could feel my magic heeding my commands, pouring into the small stone. "Call upon it as often as you need to, and even long after I've left this world this stone will bring me back to you," the stone began glowing faintly and Shippo's large eyes seemed to grow bigger.

"This stone can do that?" he asked, his eyes mesmerized. I nodded and found one of the pieces of ribbon and some of the wire I was using to make charms. Slowly I began fashioning a pendant and then I hung it around Shippo's neck so the stone could rest next to his heart.

"Go ahead and try it. I promise the magic won't fade." My magic pulsed again, adding the last promise to the stone. "I'll seal it with a kiss." I grinned at him as he dried up his tears. I pulled the stone up to my lips and kissed it, and then I kissed Shippo's forehead as he nodded.

"What do I say?" he asked, looking a little worried and confused.

"What do you feel in your heart would be the right words?" I titled my head and watched as the gears in his head began working to formulate just the right words.

"Kagome I need you!" he declared, a little loud and as the words left his mouth I could feel my magic react and my vision began lighting up, casting beautiful green light around Shippo's form. "Did it work?" he asked as my grin widened.

"You betcha. So don't worry anymore, okay?" I ruffled his hair and leaned forward again as he turned around to continue tying flowers together. "I'll always come back to you."

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

Miroku was fawning over Sango and I was tired of listening to it. It was bad when he was overly flirting with a girl, but now it was almost like he was love-struck. I had been on my way to find Kagome and see if there was anything less mind numbing I could do besides listen to the idiot try to worm his way into another girl's pants when I could smell the salty-wet scent of tears. At worst I was worried it was Kagome, but as I rounded the corner I was a little surprised to see it was Shippo. He had been acting so tough this morning when he helped us pick the grave sites and even started the pyre for us that for a little while I had forgotten that he is _just a kid_. Now he was sobbing into her chest as she charmed a stone. It was difficult magic that took a lot of concentration and yet she didn't seem all that focused. Just sad because the kid was sad.

"Go ahead and try it, I promise the magic won't fade." Her voice was sweet and full of love. "I'll even seal it with a kiss!" I could hear the grin in her voice even though I couldn't see her face. Her back was to me and all I could see was her hair shining like burnt gold in the light of the sun.

"What do I say?" Shippo asked and Kagome simply responded in that sure way of hers. Like everything was going to work out.

"What do you feel in your heart would be the right words?" she tilted her head as the kit paused and I was almost wishing that this didn't work. Almost hoping that she wasn't strong enough to do this. It took Kikyo days of practicing to charm her first object and she had been so dejected when it didn't take.

"Kagome I need you!" the stupid kid yelled out and I could _see_ Kagome's magic engulf him. He was bright, more vivid, even from where I was sitting a good thirty feet away. I could only imagine what Kagome would see with her vision reacting to her magic. "Did it work?" he asked the smile evident in his voice.

"You betcha, so don't worry anymore, okay?" Kagome's voice was full of pride in herself as she began working on the large stack of flowers in front of her. I turned around and jumped on the roof of the nearest house, a little bummed out that she had done it so easily. Kagome was becoming very powerful, and soon she wouldn't need me for protection. I had no doubt that she was going to find Kikyo, and when she did we would part ways and that would be the end of it. I would never hear her happy voice again, and never see the way the sun set's her hair on fire or the way her eyes burn with determination. She's a driven girl and one day she'll find herself someone who can really appreciate her instead of living in a past that's not nearly as good as they had originally thought.

My sadness must have been visibly ebbing from me, or Kagome was simply getting better at figure out where I was because in between tying flowers and singing songs with Shippo she turned around and motioned for me to come down. I growled at the thought of her seeing me so upset, but she was hard set when I refused her the first time. When I landed in front of her the mask of anger she was wearing was quickly shed for a smile.

"I have something for you," She grinned and held up a red rock with metal wire circling it. She had found something sturdier than the ribbon she used for the flowers to keep it around my neck.

"What's this for?"

"Well since I'm always getting kidnapped I decided to make you a 'find Kagome charm.'" She smiled and held it out for me to take. "All you need to do is activate it with a phrase."

"How do you know I'll be able to use it to find you?" I raised and eyebrow but took the rock. I could feel the magic in it humming, waiting for the finishing phrase.

"I have faith." She grinned as Shippo was busy working around us, placing three stones at the head of each grave and a small bundle of flowers at the bottom. I sized Kagome up as she stood, waiting a little impatiently.

"Fine. I'll give it a try." I growled before looking back down at the stone. What words would I use if she were to go missing? I didn't have to think long before an almost mean grin found it's way to my face. " _Where the hell is that girl?"_ I put emphasis on the words, but it wasn't necessary. The slow hum of the stone began a very distinct heartbeat and Kagome's form was engulfed in a soft purple light as she looked at me with waiting eyes.

"Well, did it work?" She asked as the glow slowly faded.

"You mean you didn't feel that?" I asked skeptically. She shook her head before a rather grating voice decided to join in on the conversation.

"Charms and talisman store magic from the caster inside of them. Whatever magic was just cast came from the stone. Once Kagome placed it there it was free of her control unless she touches it or speaks an incantation to nullify the effect." Miroku's know-it-all attitude was showing all over but Sango didn't seem to be paying his any mind.

"You marked the graves," Sango's voice wavered slightly as she stepped closer to Kagome.

"That's not all I'm going to do." The girl smiled and I was immediately worried she was trying to raise them all from the dead. "I placed stones filled with bits of my magic as the markers so that they can ward off anyone attempting to desecrate the sites." Relief flooded through me as Kagome smiled at the girl while Miroku began ticking off the number of stones.

"That's quite a lot of magic to be using Kagome. Are you sure it's wise?" He genuinely sounded concerned and it bothered me that he had pointed it out before I had a chance to.

"Why have this gift if I don't intend to use it for good things or to help those who can't help themselves. It's not right if I don't do everything I can to help." Kagome stared at Miroku with that determined fire that seemed to take over whenever she felt strongly enough about something.

"Besides, we're here to protect her." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Kagome smiled at me and nodded.

"I'll be fine." She said again before turning back to the graves. Shippo moved out of the way as she began concentrating on all of the stones at once. I could feel her magic gathering in the air as it readied for her command.

"Stones filled with my power, allow no one or thing to desecrate these graves! Let them stand the test of time as a reminder of the lives lost here!" Her voice was full of power as the stones began glowing various colors, accepting the declaration and task they were given.

Kagome didn't even break a sweat as she let out a deep breath, a smile returning to her face.

"Thank you so much!" Sango was weeping as she crushed Kagome to her.

"It's important to keep the memory of the dead alive, but it's also important to give them a place to rest peacefully. You've done a good job Kagome, and you'll make for an excellent priestess one day." Miroku was studying the girls as Sango continued to weep. I decided now was a good a time as any to let Kagome know that in two days we were leaving to find Naraku's castle and to get some answers.

"Naraku did this to Sango's people and he framed me," I let the words cut through Sango's sobs and the girl had the good graces to freeze and take in Kagome's own frozen posture. "We're leaving soon to find him. You have the choice of coming with us or staying here."

"I'll go with you." She said, her hand clutching the Shikon no Tama resting against her heart. "I have a feeling he had something to do with Kikyo's disappearance.

* * *

 **A/N** ; I know this was kind of a Shippo/Kagome heavy chapter but I've always thought shippo was a tough kid and even though he may whine a lot at inuyasha he never really gets the chance to be really sad or worried about things like death. He just rolls with it. Plus I wanna build more on the relationships between my characters and I felt that this did that nicely. Plus now inuyasha has a little charm to find kagome! Let me know how you feel about the chapter and I really hope you guys have been enjoying the story!


	31. Chapter 31

**Inuyasha**

* * *

How in the _hell_ had I let this happen?

Bandits. Fucking _bandits_ had taken Kagome in the dead of the night and here I was staring at a fading trail of purple while waiting for the other's to catch up. When we had finally made it to the site Sango had named 'Naraku's Castle' it was empty. Nothing at all was left except for this stench that seemed to permeate the air and ruin walls. This scent would be permeated in my memory for the rest of my life.

Soon after arriving Kagome found evidence that at one point Kikyo had been here, the tattered remains of her priestess clothes were stained with her blood, her faded scent soaked into the fabric. It had made me so angry I had run off for a few hours to cool down, I hadn't even thought to return to camp until well after the sun had set.

When I finally got there everyone was asleep and Kagome was gone. _Gone_. I growled my frustrations at the dark sky, my body trembling in anger. Shippo's fervent whines behind me _begging_ for Kagome to come back did nothing to calm me.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

I groaned, sitting up. A trail of green lead from the cool recesses of the cave I was in, past throngs of people to..

 _Throngs of people_? My eyes grew wide as I finally took in my surrounding. I was covered in animal pelts, nestling me in what looked like a nest of sorts. All around me were wolves and humanoids that reek of the wolves running around the den. A water fall could be heard at the entrance, where the pale green trail faded out of sight. The trail pulsed ever few moments letting me know Shippo was continuously calling for me to come back.

I would first have to find a way.

"What's your name, girl?" a gruff voice asked nearby and I turned my head slowly to come face to face with an attractive tan man. His cold blue eyes stared at me intently, waiting impatiently for an answer. The color was beautiful and yet they held little more than ice in their depths.

"Wouldn't you like to know," I huffed, throwing the pelts off of me and exposing my bare legs to the cool air of the cave. I was still in my gym uniform, the unofficial nightclothes of the wilderness for the time being, and was relieved to find myself intact. I stood, brushing imaginary dirt off my legs until I decided to make eye contact with the man. His eyebrow was twitching in annoyance and I could _feel_ his anger.

He was just like Inuyasha. I can handle him easy.

"Who the hell do you think you are wench?" another humanoid stepped forward, his face a mix of human and wolf with the snout and sharp razor teeth. Angry shouts could be heard all around the cave as I became everyone's focus of attention.

"I'm leaving," was all I said. I gave the man with ice for eyes a short look before turning on my heels and walking towards the falls.

"Like hell you are!" my arm was grabbed roughly and I turned slowly, my eyes meeting my assailant's without flinching at the anger and _eminent death_ etched on his features. He was attractive, that was certain, but he was pompous and arrogant and I didn't have time to ponder what else he could be.

"Unhand me," my voice was as cold as his eyes and for a moment I was proud of myself. I felt like crawling back into the pelts and sleeping. My body was exhausted and it couldn't be too long after sunrise as light was falling through the falls sending dancing rainbows across the walls.

"You're a priestess and we need your help," His voice was low and soft for a moment. Angry shouts could be heard all around me, letting me know I was the only one that heard these muttered words.

"What makes you think I'll help you?" I did my best to keep my voice low, but a sudden commotion must have drown out my words because he still looked at me expectantly. I turned my head to watch as bodies were carried through a small entrance next to the roaring falls. The coppery stench of blood was able to mute the stench of wet dog well enough to tell me some of these people were dead. I turned back to the man holding my arm. His jaw was clenched, panic was evident in his eyes. He had planned on winning this verbal fight with me before something like this could happen, I could feel it in the tension swirling around him.

I yanked my arm out of his grasp, sighing. "What's your name?" I looked up at him with what I hoped was a neutral look, but I already know my face bleeds concern like no other. I can't stand around while someone is hurt. Even now my magic is itching to get out and help these people. "I won't help until you give me your name." I did my best attempt at a menacing growl. A half look of amusement found it's way to mystery man's face and for a moment he looked torn between giving in and holding out.

The gurgled scream of one of his 'nest mates' made the decision for him.

"I'm Koga, leader of this wolf tribe."

"I'm Kagome, priestess in training. I guess," I shrugged before walking straight towards the wounded and dead laid out on the cold floor, opposite the direction I should be heading. I ignored the stares as I stepped towards the wounded. One of the wolf people even snapped at me. I kept my eyes forward and focused on the people in front of me. More than half had fatal wounds and of those maybe only two or three would make it… If I hadn't stepped in.

I took a deep breath and focused on the person nearest me, letting my eyes see through the bruised skin to the breaks in veins lying underneath. I placed my hand over the wound, nudging his cells to focus on repairing the damage most severe, using my own energy to force the process along faster. One down, twenty or so to go.

* * *

 **Inuyasha**

* * *

The stench of wolves was everywhere and I was feeling nauseous. What could have happened? I mean, Kagome's gotten stronger but I highly doubt she's ready to take on an entire pack of those ravenous wolves.

Radiation was also in the air, thick and swirling in a pool off to the side.

"These lands are plagued by the Birds of Paradise," Sango's voice was muffled by the mask across her face. Instead of looking soft and demure in her kimono and slippers she was now dressed in full combat gear. I should probably ask her to make Kagome a set later, it might ease my conscious if she was properly equip to take a hit with something other than her soft skin and hard headed will.

Not that the thought of her wearing combat armor made me feel any better. That would mean her going out and _fighting_ and that caused a chill to run down my spine. Another pulse of the purple trail and I was forcing us to the right as Miroku began asking Sango questions about the 'Birds of Paradise.' I was only half paying attention, really I was just trying to make sure they didn't lag too far behind, but I did pick up the words 'heavily mutated from ancestors', 'ravenous', 'bloodthirsty', and 'have a penchant from carting away young girls.'

If those wolves brought Kagome here to be some form of sacrifice for these blood thirsty monsters I will have no problem ripping the dirty mongrels to shreds.

* * *

 **Kagome**

* * *

I had forced hours of work into one hour long session without pacing or taking a single break. I was now covered in sweat, shivering, and felt like vomiting up my entire stomach but everyone that had a heartbeat when they were carted into the cave was still alive and that was worth it.

Even if these uncivilized thugs did end up killing me.

"You must be very powerful," one of the slightly less wary wolves said quietly as I leaned against the cool cave wall, trying to quell the queasiness threatening to take over me.

"Not really," I said in a breathy voice as my vision began blackening. Oh no, this can't happen. I _cannot_ fall asleep here drained and with nothing to protect me. I blinked a couple times, forcing the black spots away as I struggled to stand.

"Here, let me help you," the soft voice pleaded as I shook my head. Luckily they didn't head my refusal because I began swaying on weak legs and was quickly finding myself falling forward. Strong calloused hands found their way to my waist, forcing me upright. Soon I was leaning against something warm and hot with a pulse, but I was too tired to force it away.

"Thanks for watching her Ginta," an annoying familiar voice rumbled through the chest my head was pressed against. The man in front of me, Ginta I guess, nodded. His unruly white hair bobbed with the movement and I watched his walk away, marveling at the grey stripe down the center. It was odd hair and I wanted to ask him about it when another wave of nausea hit me and I was clutching onto the closest thing to keep myself from falling.

That thing just happened to be Koga.

"Calm down priestess-"

"Kagome."

"-I'm not going to hurt you,"

"You kidnapped me," I pointed out as he began leading me back to the pile of furs that smelled an awful lot like himself.

"I needed the help of a priestess and my men found you when they were scouting that unusual castle," he shrugged and gently helped me into a sitting position against the wall. A cool cup of only slightly irradiated water was raised to my lips, but I turned my head away before the water could touch them.

"That," I nodded weakly at the cup before Koga could find a way to get offended by my actions, "will only make me worse. I'm easily sick." Not a lie. I still have an incredibly low tolerance for radiation, but he didn't need to know the details. He was a stranger and he had kidnapped me. The ever present pulsing green line allowing me to know Shippo still needed me to come home was enough to remind me of this fact.

"Sorry there, priestess, but we don't have radiation free waters," Koga huffed in irritation and I rolled my eyes. He's essentially a child.

"Is the waterfall fed from a river or a lake?" I asked, looking over at the falls. The light tinge of radiation was evident on the water and I wondered how I had missed it before. Maybe I was caught up in the whole 'people are dying' thing a little too strongly.

"Lake," he looked at me suspiciously. "Why?"

"When I get my strength up I can fix your problem with that."

"I'm not worried about that," he growled, icy fire staring into my eyes. I was beginning to lose focus.

"Then why did you bring me here? I can't stay forever. I have places I'm needed."

"We'll talk about this when you wake up. Rest," the command was firm but gentle and I couldn't argue. My lids were heavy and my breathing had already steadied itself into a slow pattern. Within minutes I was out.

* * *

There was another commotion as I woke up. My head was pounding and my vision was still a bit blurry but as I sat up I recognized the bright red Kimono anywhere. Inuyasha was _punching_ his way through the crowd trying to keep him at bay. The green line leading me to Shippo brought my eyes to the small figure laying in my lap, wet tears soaking into my shorts.

"Hey," I said weakly and everything seemed to stop. Except Inuyasha's ever-present yelling. I looked up to see Koga standing a few feet away looking halfway entertained, but mostly just bored. "Looks like my rescue party is here."

"I need your help killing off our biggest enemy," Koga's attention turned from the fuss Inuyasha was making to me. I vaguely wondered why there weren't more dead bodies seeing as Inuyasha didn't really enjoy running after my kidnappers when I noticed Miroku and Sango doing their best to hold him at bay. I sighed.

"Why do you need my help?"

"They have some sort of power that makes them almost invincible to our attempts at striking them down."

"I don't see how I can help," I frowned as Shippo adjusted himself in my lap, he was shaking now and I felt my fingers running through his hair before I could think to do anything else.

"I need your abilities to locate which one of them has the power so we can focus our attacks on it and strike them down once and for all."

"Like hell you will!" Inuyasha screamed and I found myself sighing. I was still so tired and sore.

"Can this wait one more day? I'm still tired from earlier."

"What the hell did you do to her?"

"Inuyasha please calm down!" Miroku was pleading while barely being able to contain the fuming demon.

"Inuyasha I'm okay," I gave him a pleading look that stilled his attempts at escaping our teammate's hold.

"Oh, no." He shook his head and glared at me. "No, no, no, no. NO." he growled the word over and over again. "We are _not_ helping another kidnapper! We still haven't gotten rid of the last one!"

"Hey! I resent that," Miroku shot him a look which caused Sango to turn and begin a lengthy questioning session.

"We need her help or our clan will die!" Ginta yelled out and a resounding yes was spoken from the rest of the humanoids.

"Inuyasha," I pleaded, doing my best to stand. My legs were still shaking and I was beginning to realize exactly how draining my life saving stint had been. "If I can help then I need to help."

"One of these days you're going to get yourself killed," his words were almost incomprehensible over the loud hurrahing around the cave at my statement. "And I'm not always going to be here to save you." Anger was swirling around him as he turned on his heel and left the cave. Faint mutterings of 'it reeks of wolves' could be heard before he neared the falls.

I could feel my heart breaking just a little bit at his statement. Of course he wouldn't be saving me forever, eventually I would reunite him with Kikyo and we would go our separate ways.

"Today we celebrate," Koga roared and it was echoed all around the cave, "For tomorrow we go to war!"

* * *

I had never before tasted alcohol. It was one of those things my mom was adamant about. I was skeptical at first once Sango handed me a clay cup of something resembling bubbly cider. She had fussed over me and assured me that Inuyasha was just throwing a fit to relieve the stress of coming back to the camp to find me gone. It was a nice sentiment but there was a nagging voice in my head whispering. I tried to shake it away but it only grew more intent on letting me know that he ' _probably couldn't get rid of me fast enough.'_ I wasn't sure if it was mine or Kikyo's as the drink in my hand was diluting my senses just a bit.

"Koga," Miroku called from his seat between Ginta and Koga's left hand man, Hakkaku, "Where's your bathing spring?"

"There's a hot spring in the back of the cave but the radiations pretty bad." Koga seemed uneasy allowing my friends into his cave, but no one was causing a scene or being terrible disrespectful (outside of Inuyasha of course).

"How about fixing that for us Kagome?" Miroku called, the pink dusting his cheeks letting me know he had much more of the cider than I.

I nodded wearily before standing. I motioned for my bag and Sango handed it to me in a fluid motion. The room spun a bit as I walked and Koga placed his warm hands on my shoulders to steady me as he took me to the spring. Hushed whispers followed our steps and I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else going on. Something they were keeping from me.

I pushed the suspicions aside as we entered a dimly lit outlet. The rough stone walls brushed against my bare arms, abrasive and grounding. The light pain kept me from thinking too much into the way Koga's proximity was causing a riotous feeling in my stomach. Butterflies, nausea, foreboding. As the light became dimmer I noticed what looked like the sprinkling of stars before us. The closer we got the more I was convinced it was the bio-luminescent silk worms I had studied in Biology a few years ago. The dark cave was lit with softly twinkling lights of all colors. Some floated through the air and others were attached to the large domed ceiling. It would have been absolutely beautiful if the cloying air hadn't been stealing the breath from my lungs. Radiation saturated this place and it was in more than just the water. The faintly twinkling lights that made this place look like a fairy tale made me nauseous looking at them after a moment.

How could I pull the radiation from them without ruining the beautiful lights they cast?

I decided to save that for the second task as I rifled through my bag and pulled out the thick leather pouch containing the small stones I had stored some of my power in previously. I took three into my hand and held them to my chest, praying that they would cleanse the pool of radiation. They glowed faintly at the request and I smiled before sealing each stone with a kiss and tossing it into the pool.

Almost immediately the air felt fresher as the green tint to the water dissipated, leaving clean, hot water to bubble and flow beneath the almost still surface.

"That's amazing," Koga's voice startled me. I guess I had simply assumed he would leave after leading me here.

"It took-a-little while to get strong enough-to-even clear out-a-bottle" my words felt like they were running together as the room spun a bit. My face felt warm but my body felt a little numb.

"You're truly an amazing woman," Koga noted with a hint of amusement in his voice.

* * *

 **A/N**

I know the Inuyasha insights were short but sometimes I feel like they're necessary. Sorry about taking so long to update.


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